On March 8, 2023, within the framework of the 67th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN with the Utah International Mountain Forum organized a side event on the theme: “Advocating for mountain women and girls’ education through student-engaged learning”.

The main goals of this event were to train future leaders to advocate for the interests of mountain communities, especially women and girls within the UN, as well as to empower students from mountain countries.

The Permanent Representatives of Andorra, Uzbekistan and Austria to the UN, as well as honorary professors of Utah Valley University and their students attended side event.

In addition, students from Osh Technological University made virtual presentations on the topic of the event.

From the Kyrgyz side, the Member of Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic Sharapatkan Mazhitova took part and in speech, she paid special attention to the challenges and opportunities for women and children in the mountainous regions of Kyrgyzstan in the field of STEM - science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

During the statement, Permanent Representative Aida Kasymalieva noted that women and girls, especially in the mountainous regions of the developing world, suffer the most from the effects of climate change and lack of access to digital technologies. In this regard, Aida Kasymaliyeva noted the importance of focusing on the education and self-development of students, especially women and girls in these regions, within the framework of the implementation of the resolution of the UN General Assembly, adopted in 2022, on the Five Years of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions.

For reference: The Utah International Mountain Forum (UIMF) is a coalition of student clubs at Utah Valley University. UIMF provides a unique engaged learning extracurricular activity that encourages students to advocate for sustainable mountain development locally and internationally. It was developed in 2011 as a result of joint efforts from the UVU History and Political Science Department of the university. The main objectives of this forum are to raise awareness about mountains and their sustainable development; bringing communities together to recognize their shared mountain heritage; acquiring professional skills through training to solve the problems of mountain communities.