On June 11-13 Ms.Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN Secretary General's Envoy on Youth visited Uzbekistan. As part of her visit the Envoy participated in the opening ceremony of the International Conference  on "The role of youth in preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism” organized by the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan jointly with the Project Coordinator of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the United Nations. 

"At a time that mainstream media and our formal political institutions only see young people as either Victims or Perpetrators of violence, forums like these give us an opportunity to recognize the positive contributions of young people towards building and sustaining peace and analyze which preventive measures work best,"- the Youth Envoy  said addressing the event attended by delegations from Afghanistan, China, Germany, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, foreign experts, as well as senators, deputies, activists of the Union of Youth of Uzbekistan, scientists, journalists.

Following her participation in the conference, Ms.Wickramanayake visited the Legislative Chamber of the Parliament of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Guests were informed about the State Youth Policy implemented in Uzbekistan in accordance with the Action Strategy on five priority areas of development of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021. 

Towards the end of the day, the Envoy visited the Inha International University in Tashkent where the first "Technovation Challenge" technological contest was held among girls. 

The Envoy's visit to the country included a day in Samarkand, an ancient city on the Great Silk Road where the Envoy met local youth who shared their aspirations, dreams and challenges they face as well as asking questions on Sustainable Development Goals and the UN's vision on the role of youth in driving the Agenda2030.

The programme of the UN Secretary General's Envoy on Youth concluded with meetings at the National Centre for Human Rights and the Youth Press Club in the Youth Union of Uzbekistan wheer the Envoy met and had a open discussion with local youth on how they can become a better asset for their communities, countries in helping their governments to develop better and stronger youth policies that would leave no one behind.

On the last day of her stay in Uzbekistan Ms.Wickramanayake attended the first live Social Media Zone on Facebook arranged by the UN Office in Uzbekistan where she shared her impressions, takeaways and the insights gained from the trip agenda. "Don't wait for an invitation! If you see something, say something. I encourage all of you to take extraordinary actions for us all to achieve the #SustainableDevelopmentGoals," - the Youth Envoy said addressing the Uzbek youth in the end of the live show.