KazNU strengthens cooperation with UNICEF
Al-Farabi KazNU was visited by a delegation of UNICEF representatives led by international humanitarian and philanthropist Nazanin Alakiyya.
The guests of honor got acquainted with the campus of the university, visited the Center for Situational Management and met with a member of the Board - Vice-Rector for Operations of Al-Farabi KazNU Assel Uvalieva. Leading specialist of the Ban Ki-moon Institute for Sustainable Development of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Saltanat Abdugazieva and UNICEF Head of Education and Skills Tatyana Aderikhina took an active part in the negotiations.
In her welcoming speech, the vice-rector spoke about the activities of the university, focusing on the cooperation between UNICEF and KazNU. A vivid example of successful interaction is the UniSat project, within which in 2020 20 girls aged 14 to 35 years from different regions of Kazakhstan took courses on creating a nanosatellite in the Science and Technology Park of KazNU. al-Farabi. In 2022, the country's first educational UniSat Hub was opened in Turkestan on the basis of the Schoolchildren's Palace, which has become a place of attraction for schoolchildren and students of other universities who are interested in space robotics and small spacecraft.
Assel Bekbolatovna also noted that KazNU is the leader in the international ranking Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings-2023 for all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A large number of scientific and educational projects of the country's leading university are being implemented within the framework of the SDGs, touching upon the issues of improving the quality of life, strengthening the health of the nation and preserving the environment.
Ms. Nazanin Alakiya, in turn, noted that she is deeply committed to three areas: education, empowerment of women and girls, and the environment. She believes that a sustainable, prosperous and just world is within our reach if we can give women and girls the education they deserve and lead communities towards a sustainable future.
Nazanin Alakiyi's humanitarian work is primarily dedicated to identifying and deploying solutions to address the negative impacts of climate change on the underprivileged, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). During the ongoing conflict in Yemen, she raised funds for emergency relief, including food, medicine and psychosocial assistance, and for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
“All girls have a chance to excel in the STEAM field and develop skills by creating nanosatellites through gamification,” emphasized Ms. Alakiya, with whose support the UniSat program was created, which is successfully developed as part of a joint project of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Engineering Cluster and high technologies KazNU named after al-Farabi.
During the meeting, the achievements of Al-Farabi KazNU within the framework of the UNICEF project regarding gender equality issues, as well as further development of cooperation, were also presented. The Ban Ki-moon Institute for Sustainable Development of Al-Farabi KazNU and UNICEF, which has stepped up its activities, have agreed to continue close cooperation in upcoming initiatives in order to further implement the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
During the visit, Ms. Alakiya met with the participants of the course. The girls shared their impressions of creating nanosatellites, the difficulties and stereotypes that girls in STEAM struggle with, and also talked about the opportunities that opened up for them after completing the course.
