Dear friends,

I would like start by congratulating KAYO for hosting a yearly forum that assembles motivated and knowledgeable youth with an interest for Kurdish issues both within the United States and in Kurdistan.
 This type of forum will hopefully lead to the creation of sustainable networks which will in turn make it easier for young people to contribute to the co-creation of a stable and democratic Kurdistan. 

The Ministry of Sports and Youth was installed on 7th May 2006 and is the first governmental authority in the history of the Kurdistan Region assigned to develop the Region’s sport community and youth movement. Since it inauguration numerous reforms have taken place, projects realized and campaigns launched. Considerable efforts have also been made to facilitate the creation of transparent youth organisations as part of a democratic civil society movement. Youth organisations are an extremely important source of know-how in their understanding of the mindset and the needs of the youth within their own community. 

An important step in this direction has been to create channels where young people can voice their opinions on a political level. The Ministry of Sports and Youth is initiating an exciting new project and are proposing that a political youth committee serve as an advisory board for youth related issues in the parliament.

Another effective way of making ones voice heard is through the radio. The Ministry of Sports and Youth is working with a unique project consisting of 7 local radio stations both within and outside the Kurdistan Region. All broadcasts are run voluntarily by the local youth in the community who are responsible for both content and technical management. Furthermore, each local radio group is registered as a NGO and is taught the basics in democratic and organisational development. The broadcasts have proven to be extremely popular and
listeners can call in and discuss topics that have been raised during the programs such as politics, religion, relationship problems and health issues etc.

The Ministry of Sports and Youth has also launched a capacity building campaign stretching from 2007-2010 that seeks to increase the level of know-how in several areas, especially English and IT. As of last year a summer camp will be organized every year as part of this campaign. Set in a beautiful mountainous area in the Kurdistan Region, Kurdistani youth and friends of the Kurds, from both Kurdistan and abroad participate in interactive classes, sports activities and excursions. The camps are a unique opportunity for peer to peer learning and many of the participants living in diaspora have held classes in a number of subjects. The youth in the US can play a vital role in this project and you are all welcome to take a closer look at the possibilities to collaborate in this dynamic forum this coming year.

We are living in an era of globalization. Never before has it been easier to interact and exchange views. The conditions for establishing youth networks are stronger than ever and there is an increasing general awareness manifested by a new level of political activism. This trend has also come to the Kurdistan Region. Thanks to both the internet and satellite television horizons are broadening, but at the same time creating a sense of frustration and impatience towards the many challenges that lie ahead.  Looking through the keyhole to the outside world and comparing it with the reality of the Kurdistan Region leaves many young people wanting and expecting more from their government. Together with a high unemployment level and the youth’s increasing awareness of the infrastructural shortcomings in their community, many are drawn out of the region to seek a brighter future elsewhere.

It is of top priority for Kurdistan Regional Government and my Ministry to reverse this brain-drain trend and create the adequate conditions to alter the mindset of this group to want stay and help develop their Region.

The Ministry’s second mandate is to develop the sport community in the Region and we are working hard to activate our citizens to understand the benefits of physical activities.

Aside from the obvious health benefits that sport offers, exercise also offers important community-building qualities that teaches us the principles of fair play, teamwork and observing code of rules. It sets aside our personal aspirations for the benefit of collective goals and it teaches us that winning or losing can be done with honour – knowing that one did the very best of one’s ability. 

For far too long physical and recreational activities have been earmarked for the male community while girls and women, persons with physical and mental disabilities, elderly people and socially deprived youth have stood in the periphery. Several regional campaigns have been launched to raise awareness of the benefits of physical activity and just recently a sports gala was held spreading the message of increased sport participation while paying tribute to the Region’s young elite athletes.

This is a truly an exciting chapter in the sport history of the Kurdistan Region and the youth of America are welcome to participate in this development with your, know-how, skills and experience.

Again, we welcome you, the Kurdistani youth of America to take an active stand in the development of the Kurdistan Region and to work towards a successful democratic episode in our history.

Bexerben!