Afghan Youth Conference The Commonwealth Club, London 2008
The first Afghan Youth Conference took place in London on 18 July 2008. Around 80 participants gathered at the Commonwealth Club in central London on a Friday evening to enjoy a varied programme including a range of speakers, video, slide show, refreshments, Attan dance demonstration and a fashion parade of Afghan dress. The evening concluded with a live performance from Afghan rapper Aris Parwez (Kojahi). The conference was accompanied by a photographic exhibition of contemporary – and positive – images from Afghanistan.
The event was opened by Hamasa Kohistani, former Miss UK 2005, who welcomed everyone and encouraged young Afghans to look to her as an example of what could be achieved if you followed your dreams. She then invited Mayvand, Director of the Afghan Council UK, to introduce the event and explain the reasons behind it. Mayvand said that in four previous international conferences about the reconstruction of Afghanistan and support for the new government, no one had discussed the role of youth in the future development of Afghanistan. Mayvand felt that the event should highlight opportunities for young people in their home country, but also look at their role and responsibilities in the UK. Mayvand also wanted to pay tribute to the role of the British armed forces and those of many other countries in Afghanistan, particularly to those who have either lost their lives or who have been wounded in action.
The event was then chaired by Ikramuddin Sawary member of the Afghan Council UK, and one of the best known young professionals in the Afghan community, who introduced the speakers and provided a summary and linkage between each part of the conference.
The first speaker was Greg Hands MP, Conservative Member of Parliament for Hammersmith and Fulham, who said that he was very proud that his constituency was the centre for the Afghan Council UK. He said that the UK was committed to rebuilding Afghanistan and he expressed strong support to the British army serving in Afghanistan. However, he mentioned that there was need to re-evaluate what is happening in Afghanistan and that we may need to change our approach and concentrate on the economy, education and understanding regional and local government. While the British armed forces will be in Afghanistan for some time, we need to encourage young people to get involved in civil society. He hoped that one day there would be an Afghan member of parliament at Westminster and in the meantime that some Afghans would perhaps enter public life as local borough counsellors. He concluded by inviting a group of young Afghans to visit the Houses of Parliament with him one day.
Next up, was Captain Paul Kelly who spoke about his experience of active service in Afghanistan in 2007, emphasizing the developmental and building work that army engineers were engaged in following improvements to security. This included installation of village water systems, building schools and roads and travelling to remote areas to offer medical aid to villages. He finished by saying that the Afghan people must themselves work for an Afghan future. At the end of the talk, Mayvand stepped forward and asked if he could kiss Capt Kelly, Afghan style, to show his appreciation! Capt Kelly joined in the embrace to general amusement from the audience and the atmosphere became visibly more relaxed.
His talk was followed by a moving slide show, prepared by Mohammad Akbar of the Afghan Council UK, of all the British fatalities in Afghanistan to that date, a poignant reminder of the high cost of helping to bring peace and stability to the country.
Dawood Azami, journalist and broadcaster with the BBC World Service, then talked about the drug problem in Afghanistan. This has increased dramatically over the past five years with 1.5 million Afghans now addicted out of a population of 28 million. This is Afghanistan’s newest disease, with buying of drugs as easy as buying vegetables – they are everywhere. Drug addiction is rapidly increasing especially amongst women and children (7 and 8 year olds are already sniffing glue). Addicts include those who were living in refugee camps and returned with their addiction, also 66% of the population are depressed, a strong underlying factor in the rapid increase in drug use. Cases of HIV/AIDS are also rising. He also mentioned the shortage of specialist treatment centres, only 40 in the whole country, and the lack of trained staff and inadequacy of treatment programmes. Overall, the issue of drug abuse needs to be addressed at every level – from cultivation to cure.
The next speaker, Mohammad Iqbal of the IOM (International Office of Migration), explained the work of the IOM in helping migrants to return to their home countries in a humane and orderly process. He outlined the three different programmes running: assisted voluntary return for illegal migrants; voluntary assisted return and reintegration; and a new pilot project which will focus on five countries, including Afghanistan, whereby nationals could return to Afghanistan on a temporary basis to work for reconstruction. This scheme is funded by the Home Office. Information about this scheme was available at the conference.
We then watched a short video, Burden of History, a documentary about Afghan women produced and directed by Zarghona Rassa, former Afghanistan TV journalist and presenter, in September 2006. This showed that while women in Afghanistan were now holding positions of responsibility including becoming members of the new parliament, there was still great prejudice and discrimination, that the legal system did not treat them as equals with men and that many did not feel safe moving about the streets on their own. There is a long way to go in achieving justice and equality for all.
Laura Stock of the Hammersmith and Fulham Refugee Forum then spoke about the situation for refugees in the UK and mentioned the barriers they face in this country, particularly if they are children. There are often delays in the asylum process which cases instability and a lack of security. There is systematic social exclusion of asylum seekers that frequently leaves vulnerable people isolated and alienates future citizens. There is also the issue of family separation and experiences of dislocation from home. There are barriers in accessing services including access to schools, further education, training opportunities and employment. There is also prejudice and misinformation from the media. She then spoke of the role of the Refugee Forum in promoting greater understanding of the refugee experience and encouragement of further understanding between communities. The integration of refugees is a dynamic two-way process. It is both re responsibility of the host community and the refugee communities to build a shared future. The two-way process of integration applied to education, employment, health and public services, political participation and in promoting cultural heritage. It was particularly important to empower and promote the activities of young refugees as these young people (such as those here at the Youth Conference) have the chance to impact upon the future of both the UK and Afghanistan.
The final speaker was Inspector Dan Stobbart of the Hammersmith & Fulham police. He began by saying that Afghan young people do not seem to get into trouble with the police which was a really positive situation. He then mentioned that there were only 25 Afghans in the police force in London and he encouraged young Afghans to consider a career in the police force including working at local level as Community Support Police Officers. This would further assist with community integration and you did not have to be a UK citizen to join and work for the police.
We were then entertained by a group of young men wearing national costume who performed the Attan dance, ably led by Niarzy Fahim Hikmat.
The gathering then adjourned for delicious food and refreshments and an opportunity to view the photographic exhibition. This included strong images of both young and old, girls and boys, women and men - working, playing, attending school, resting and hoping. The faces of contemporary Afghanistan, in all their rich diversity.
After the break we enjoyed a colourful and entertaining fashion show of Afghan ceremonial dress, modelled by students who had worked hard to put the parade together. Miss Kohistani joined them on the catwalk to demonstrate a range of costumes for men and women from various regions within Afghanistan.
The evening concluded with songs sung in Dari, Spanish and English from the Afghan rap singer Aris Parwez. Copies of his latest CD were on sale at the event.
The boys once again joined in the Attan before everyone dispersed. The event had provided a brief glimpse of both opportunity and challenge for the Afghan community in the homeland and in the UK.
Tarana Afzali: Organising and participating in the fashion show element of the ‘Afghan youth conference’ was a great experience. The fashion show was the highlight of the evening as it involved young Afghans walking down the runway with traditional afghan garments. This has never been achieved before. It was a grand opportunity to show the beauty of our culture through the Variety of distinctive designs. I am delighted and proud to represent young Afghans throughout the UK and it has been a wonderful experience to reflect on, especially as it was the first time taking place in London. I am personally thankful to Mr.Mayvand for giving me the opportunity to work with him and help him organise the fashion show part of the evening and Ms. Hammasa Kohistani who gave us her time and experience to help put together such a successful event. I believe working together with my fellow Afghans made me realise how well we can work together as a team and this can be also be achieved in our country, Afghanistan.
Nilofar Afzali: I am flattered that I was asked to participate in an event full of diversity and culture. The event engaged young Afghans to organise a fashion show, which involved sharing creativity and imagination, to create a runway with rich, colourful garments. I have achieved great hope for young Afghans in the UK, to come together and build a community which can mend our country and resolve differences which are holding us back. I am delighted I took part, as the message of the fashion show was to break barriers between the Western world and the Eastern world, and also to educate people about the culture of Afghanistan, which is not portrayed successfully in the media. It is also a symbol of coming together and being one, regardless of your ethnicity.
Maral Ghawsi: From the commencement of this project, till the very end, I was proud for taking part in a section of an Afghan event. Prior to this project, my knowledge of our culture was not in depth, however this project has taught me more than what I had expected and I am eternally thankful for Mr. Mayvand ‘Afghan Council UK’ for organising such an event.
Though this project may not have reached all those we had hoped, it was a stepping stone for Afghans spread around the world who have been wrongly categorised under an undeserving title by the media. This event was not only a cultural awareness project aimed at the British Public, but also aimed at Afghans, teaching them to create an image of their own; a more positive image, one that gives hope to all those still suffering in Afghanistan.I feel honoured and privileged to have been given a chance to show the British public the underlying beauty of my homeland.
Arian: The media has mostly found to be portraying a negative image of Afghanistan, the aim of ‘Afghan Youth Conference’ was to replace this negativity and show the beauty of our culture and the fashion show aspect enabled us to do this.
When I was asked to take part in the fashion show I didn’t hesitate at all but accepted the offer right away and I felt privileged to be working along side the role model of many young afghans, Ms. Hammasa Kohistani, who has opened many doors for young Afghans all around the world and she was very keen to help us in every part of the event.Seeing young Afghan girls and boys working together in the fashion show to enhance the image of Afghanistan was overwhelming, this shows the world that Afghan youth are working for a better future for Afghanistan.The fashion show was a great success; I am sure everyone who took part felt extremely proud to represent their culture.
Ameen Sultani: Love and passion for our country forced me into participating in the Afghan Youth Conference. This was an opportunity for me to promote and raise awareness about Afghanistan, hoping that it would be an attempt to change how the media portrays Afghanistan. The event was a success in terms of allowing me to understand Afghanistan by exploring different cultures, which I was unaware of and it has been an excellent opportunity to network with other Afghan youths on whom the future of Afghanistan depends upon. There needs to be more events similar to this event to raise awareness and attract individuals like myself to identify what 'I' or 'WE' as a team can do for our country. Also, if this event desires to remain successful it needs some source of communication flow to keep youths informed and network with each other because 'Only Together We Can Create A Better Afghanistan'.
Idrees Rasouli : Over all the whole evening was a joyful and entertaining venue, which demonstrated a cultural part of Afghan nation (The Catwalk). The talks given by the number of important personalities gave us a wider understanding of our responsibilities as Afghans that includes inside and outside of the United Kingdom.The photographic exhibition was also respectfully a mixture of past present and perhaps the future of Afghanistan and its public. To my knowledge, for the coming events, it would be great to have a theme up on which the afghan events should be presented. Having an event that fully demonstrates Afghanistan and its people would cater a lot of extra sidelines to an event. Hence, including (the world famous) afghan food in the future events would create an important and impressive environment on its own for the non Afghans.
Mohammad Akbar: I believe that the Afghan Youth Conference was a success. Despite the fact that it had its shortcomings yet it was a pioneering work. I sincerely hope that this event has unshackled the minds of the stakeholders in Afghanistan’s progress and re-development and propelled them into contemplating over the involvement of the youth in this huge task that awaits us. I would be very delighted to see events of similar nature and purpose convened, and the inalienable importance of youth highlighted. Should this hope materialise I would feel that we achieved our goal.I and the rest of the team members involved in this event gained not only knowledge and experience but also friends and pleasant memories of working together. Perhaps this was the most prominent and valuable personal gain for all of us. The event touched slightly on many aspects of Afghanistan ranging from the grim realities of drugs, poverty, lack of education to the brighter aspects of our rich cultural heritage, reconstruction of the country, and Afghans who reconciled the differences of Afghan and western cultures and made a difference – such as Ms. Hammasa Kohistani. I would like to thank all my friends Tarana, Maral, Ikram, Arian and most importantly Mr. Mayvand for his relentless efforts for youth development.
