Eco-Volunteering Session Held at RES 2026

On April 23, from 2:00 PM to 3:45 PM, the “Aral” conference hall of the Astana Hilton hosted a panel session titled “Volunteering and Environmental Action” as part of the Regional Ecological Summit (RES 2026) in Kazakhstan. The session focused on volunteering, the exchange of best practices, and the development of new initiatives.Mr. Berkeli Atayev, Director of the “Tebigy Kuwwat” enterprise (Nature Preserving Society of Turkmenistan) and representative of the Aarhus Center in Ashgabat, participated as a panelist.

The session, co-organized by the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan and United Nations Volunteers (UNV), was highly symbolic. The organizers’ decision was based on the initiative proposed by the President of Kazakhstan at the UN General Assembly to declare 2026 the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development. Furthermore, Kazakhstan previously designated 2020 as the National Year of Volunteering.The event was attended by Ms. Aida Balayeva, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan, who delivered the opening remarks. Following her speech, participants viewed a video message from Mr. Toily Kurbanov, Executive Coordinator of United Nations Volunteers (UNV).

The session also featured presentations from distinguished high-level guests:

• Mr. Haoliang Xu, UN Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP);

• Ms. Vera Kim, Deputy of the Mazhilis (the Parliament) of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Chairperson of the National Volunteer Network;

• Ms. Aygun Aliyeva, Chairperson of the Agency for State Support to NGOs of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Representatives from five Central Asian countries presented on the volunteer movements in their respective nations:

• Yevgeniy Mukhamedzhanov, Founder of the “ECO Network” project (Kazakhstan);

• Omar Dairov, Executive Director of the “Green Alliance of Kyrgyzstan”;

• Firuz Azizov, Environmental Project Manager at the “Peshsaf” Public Organization (Tajikistan);

• Berkeli Atayev, Director of “Tebigy Kuwwat” (Nature Preserving Society of Turkmenistan) and Aarhus Center representative;

• Ms. Ergash Mokhinurkhon, Head of the Youth Affairs Department of the Environmental Party of Uzbekistan;

• Kairat Sultanbekov, National Expert at the Association of Ecological Organizations of Kazakhstan and CEO of GIS-AgroMonitor;

• Asel Badenova, Leader of the “Zhana Adamdar” movement.

Given the upcoming volunteer events scheduled for August in Aktau and Kyzylorda, the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan also invited Mr. Askhat Oralov, Deputy Akim of the Mangystau Region, and Mr. Ardak Zebeshev, Deputy Akim of the Kyzylorda Region.

In an interview, Mr. Berkeli Atayev noted: “During the discussion, special attention was paid to the role of volunteering in addressing the region’s environmental challenges. I am confident that developing this branch of volunteer activity will help foster a more responsible attitude toward the environment in Turkmenistan. I would also like to highlight the significant contribution of the UNV Program in raising awareness about eco-volunteering. As UNV Executive Coordinator Toily Kurbanov timely emphasized, “environmental volunteering is not just a cleanup event (subbotnik);” it is a comprehensive activity aimed at long-term change. The Summit and our discussion have laid the foundation for quality environmental shifts at both the state level and in the public consciousness.”

The session concluded with the signing of two key documents by volunteer organizations from the five Central Asian countries: a Memorandum of Intent for the joint implementation of the “CASPIAN SEA ACTION WEEK 2026” project and a Memorandum for the joint implementation of the “GREEN ARAL: VOLUNTEERS FOR LIFE” project.

Berkeli Atayev.