DUSHANBE , July 12, Asia-Plus - A one-day forum formally titled “Participation of Schoolchildren in Work of Local Government” being held in Dushanbe today.

According to information from the Dushanbe Office of International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), the forum is held within the framework of the “Student Local Government Day” Project.   The forum participants include 30 active schoolchildren from Dushanbe , Gorno Badakhshan, Sughd, Khatlon and districts subordinate to the center, as well as 11 local officials from Dushanbe , Khatlon and districts subordinate to the center.  

According to the source, the main objective of the event is in exchange of experience as well as planning of further joint actions.  

Chairman of the Youth Committee under the Tajik Government Davlatali Saidov, representatives from the Ministry of Education, as well as U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe and USAID are taking part in the forum’s work.  

ABOUT: Student Local Government Day (SLGD) Project allows students to spend a day working with local officials, learning how local government works and how a citizen can participate in governance.  The goal is to create students’ appreciation and interest in civil service and challenge them to hold their local officials accountable, inspiring them to be active citizens and perhaps becoming civil servants themselves in the future.  Since 2001, IFES has drawn 510 schoolchildren and 234 local officials into the project’s work.