Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan is celebrating the day of youth on Saturday, February 2, a date highlighting the important role young people play in the life of the young Azerbaijani state.

According to deputy chairman of the ruling Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party (YAP) Ali Ahmedov, Azerbaijani youth will ensure a successful future for their country thanks to patriotism, activity, strength and power.

The Azerbaijani youth, numbering 2.8 million people, or around 30 percent of the country's total population of more than 9.3 million, constantly benefits from the government's support.

In recent years Azerbaijan adopted the Law on Youth Policy; the State Program on Youth of Azerbaijan was approved in 2005 and 2011.

Nationwide youth forums are regularly conducted and 2007 had been announced Year of Youth in the country. Funds allocated from the state budget to support young people increase year-on-year.

The main purposes of the youth policy in Azerbaijan are to create suitable conditions for physical, mental and spiritual development of youth, to assist in the realization of their skills and abilities, and the solution of their social problems, and guarantee the protection of their rights.

According to the national legislation dated May 5, 2007, people aged between 14 and 29 are considered young in Azerbaijan.

The education system as well as family play a big role in upbringing the youth. Along with standard education programs, including higher education, there are a number of programs which help gifted young people to ensure their social life and receive the necessary education. The Education Ministry cooperates with a number of countries under partnership programs.

Physical education, as well as the mental one, plays an important part in the formation of adult people. The Youth and Sport Ministry is dealing with youth development in the country.

The country supports children and youth activity in sports by holding a number of local and international competitions for young men and women. Holding the first-ever European Olympic Games in the Azerbaijani capital Baku in 2015 is another good example of sport and youth activity in the country.

A number of organizations support the Azerbaijani youth's activity both in and outside the country. Over 200 independent youth organizations are registered in the country.

Young people play one of the leading roles in presenting Azerbaijan abroad and actively promote and integrate Azerbaijan into other countries, taking part in Azerbaijani diaspora organizations worldwide.

According to the chairman of the Great Silk Way international youth organisation, MP Fuad Muradov, extensive work on the preservation of Azerbaijan's independence and strengthening of statehood is vested in Azerbaijani youth today.

"As a rapidly developing country, today we have a lot of enemies. Azerbaijan has an unsolved problem [with Armenia], the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Therefore, youth should be vigilant," Muradov says.

Muradov stressed that Azerbaijani youth is particularly active in international organisations.

"Azerbaijan implements youth-related projects and organises major international events," Muradov said. According to him, unlike the early 1990s, today there are all necessary conditions for such activities.

Cultural development of the youth is another step in the formation of an intelligent new generation. For that purpose, many programs on developing young talents, as well as attracting youth to the national culture, are being implemented across the country.

Well-educated, creative and healthy young persons are valuable employees in Azerbaijan. To help such people to find a proper job, a young employees' database will be launched in May. The database will be available for a limited number of organizations, including state bodies and major private companies, which hire and attract to their projects young people who comply with the companies' requirements.

Also, a ten-year program on Azerbaijani youth will be announced in May, while a new state program on supporting young people for 2016-2020 will be another stage of Azerbaijani youth development.