Issues of preventing religious extremism among the youth were discussed in Astana

Today, October 25, 2018, in Astana, a republican scientific and practical conference "The role of women's organizations in the spiritual and moral education of youth and in the formation of immunity to radical religious ideology" was held.

The conference was held as part of the implementation of the State Program on Combating Religious Extremism and Terrorism in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2018-2022, the purpose of which was to discuss issues of interaction between women's and youth non-governmental organizations with government bodies in the formation of a high immunity to radical religious ideology in society.

In his speech, Kaisar Dzhanakhanov, the head of the Committee for Public Accord of the Ministry of Social Development, noted: “We are building a new society and therefore much attention is paid to educating our youth, because it is them who will continue to be responsible for Kazakhstan, strengthen peace and harmony in the country, continue and strengthen traditions of our people.”

The speakers were the Deputy Chairman of the National Commission for Women and Family and Demographic Policy under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Lyazzat Suleimen, President of the Association of Business Women of Kazakhstan Raushan Sarsembaeva, Director of the Research and Analysis Center Ainur Abdrasilkyzy, and others.

In total, more than 120 people took part in the conference, these are representatives of state bodies, non-governmental organizations, women's organizations, higher educational institutions, leaders of youth movements and public opinion from all over the republic.

The conference addressed issues such as the reasons for involvement of young people in destructive religious movements, the importance of women's organizations in the formation of stable civic positions, and zero tolerance for destructive, radical religious movements.

In turn, the director of the Center for the Analysis and Development of Interfaith Relations of Pavlodar Region Razdykova Gulnaz, who has been studying this issue for several years, emphasized that today it is first of all necessary to combine the efforts of all layers of a multinational, multiconfessional society, state bodies, public associations, NGOs, scientists, the media in the fight against extremism. The work on elimination of the ideology of extremism should be carried out at the state level and at the level of perception of these problems by society itself.

Representatives of youth and women's organizations also shared their practical experience in preventive work with various target groups.

In general, the conference was held in a productive mood, the result of which was the unification of youth and women's organizations for participation in advocacy work to discredit the ideas of destructive movements.