The West Zone Students’ Peace Dialogue Meeting Was Held

The second round of Peace Dialogue between students of the governmental universities in the western zone of the country was held with the participation of Monasa Hassanzada, Deputy Governor of Herat Province, Baset Ahmad Hafezi, the Capital Region Director of the State Ministry for Peace and in charge of the “Peace Dialogue” program, Aref Kiani, the Western Zone Director of the State Ministry for Peace, Officials from Herat University, and Students from Herat, Farah and Badghis provinces.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Mohammad Dawood Munir, Vice-Chancellor of Students Affairs at Herat University, welcomed the participants and briefed the meeting on the process of holding this dialogue, saying that this is the second round of the dialogue for Herat, Farah and Badghis provinces. He added that among 30 competitors, six of them are expected to find their way to the next stage, with two students from each university. He hoped that the best plans for peace would be chosen by the arbitrators of this dialogue.
Monasa Hassanzada, Deputy Governor of Herat Province, also welcomed the launch of this dialogue, saying it is an excellent way to gather students’ plans and opinions on the peace process.
Baset Ahmad Hafezi, the Capital Region Director of the State Ministry for Peace and in charge of the “Peace Dialogue” program, said that the dialogue provides a basis for strengthening national cohesion and consensus on peace and unifying views in academic institutions. He stressed that past experiences show a serious need for unification of different views and consensus-building across Afghanistan.
Mr. Hafezi added that this dialogue was held with the participation of 39 universities across the county. The purpose of holding this national dialogue is to involve the youth in the peace process and ensure their participation in this process.
He did not consider it enough to gather the youth’s views and suggestions in academic institutions and stressed that the State Ministry for Peace is also considering other programs to unify youth views.
The participating students then presented their plans for the peace process.
Baset Ahmad Hafezi, the Capital Region Director of the State Ministry for Peace and in charge of the “Peace Dialogue” program, said after the presentation of the students’ plans that participants who did not find their way to the final stage would also be in contact with the State Ministry for Peace through establishing a group. Therefore, they will participate in other peace programs.
Concluding the meeting, Aref Kiani, the Western Zone Director of the State Ministry for Peace, said that with the support of the youth’s academic resources, we could have a hopeful outlook for Afghanistan’s future and peace efforts.
He added that the competitors, whose plans have reached the final stage, will work with the State Ministry for Peace on peace education, peacemaking and peacebuilding.
He considered the participation of youth, women, scholars, and academic institutions to cooperate in the peace process’s effectiveness as part of the State Ministry for Peace plans and expressed hope that youth capacities in educational institutions would be used to improve the peace process.
At the end of the meeting, six winners of the competition from the western zone were awarded certificates, and those who cooperated in holding this dialogue with the State Ministry for Peace were awarded letters of commendation.
Worth mentioning that the National Peace Dialogue is held at 39 universities across the country, and 10 participants from each university are expected to compete with presenting peace-related plans, as two students from each university would be chosen for the final stage. After completing the Peace Dialogue meetings in eight zones, the Student’s National Peace Dialogue would be held in Kabul with the selected students’ participation from all governmental universities.