On May 6, the final of the fifth season of the career-oriented project “Young Messengers of Peace” was held at the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. The project is organized by the institute and its School of Young Diplomats for senior school students across Turkmenistan.
The fifth season of the large-scale university project began in November 2025 — the International Year of Peace and Trust — and was conducted under the general motto: “Independent Neutral Turkmenistan – the Center of Peace Policy and Dialogue of Mutual Trust.”
At the very beginning of the project, the preliminary qualifying stage brought together hundreds of school students from different regions of the country, reflecting the growing interest of young people in the history of their homeland, domestic and foreign policy, and Turkmenistan’s diplomatic relations with countries around the world.
Senior students who demonstrated the best results during the selection stage earned the right to participate in the intellectual competition, which included seven qualifying games, two semifinal rounds, and the final.
The six best participants of the season successfully overcame the challenging path to the final, which required excellent knowledge of school subjects as well as broad erudition beyond the standard curriculum, comprehensive awareness, leadership qualities, endurance, and patience.
The finalists’ performances were evaluated by a distinguished jury that included: Begench Karaev, Senior Lecturer at the Department of International Relations and Diplomacy of the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and Candidate of Philosophical Sciences; Oguljeren Hajyeva, member of the Union of Engineers and Architects of the Turkic World of the international organization TURKSOY and Candidate of Architecture; Toyly Hommyev, Lecturer at the Department of the History of Turkmenistan at Magtymguly Turkmen State University.
According to the results of the final round, the Grand Prix of the competition was awarded to Kerim Dovletov, an 11th-grade student of Specialized Secondary School No. 6 with advanced foreign language studies in Ashgabat.
First place was awarded to Kakajan Shokhradov, an 11th-grade student of Secondary School No. 9 in the Sayat etrap of the Lebap velayat.
Second place went to Aykhan Arslanov, an 11th-grade student of the Saparmyrat Turkmenbashy Specialized Boarding School in Ashgabat.
Third place was awarded to Humay Danatarova, an 11th-grade student of Specialized Secondary School No. 52 with advanced foreign language studies in Ashgabat.
The award ceremony took place in the institute’s assembly hall. The winners received diplomas, medals, and valuable gifts from the Central Council of the Magtymguly Youth Organization of Turkmenistan and the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan. The Grand Prix winner was also presented with the competition’s Challenge Cup.
Following a good tradition, after the award ceremony the young heralds released white doves into the sky as a symbol of friendship, peace, and goodwill in front of the institute’s main building.
In the near future, Turkmen television viewers will be able to watch the broadcast of the competition final. The filming and recording of the event were carried out by representatives of the educational studio of the Institute of International Relations and the national television channel “Miras,” which has become a regular partner of the project.
The career-oriented project “Young Messengers of Peace” has been held for five consecutive academic years and continues to gain popularity among school students across the country. This intellectual competition, aimed at identifying and attracting talented and highly educated youth, has proven its effectiveness. To date, 37 of the project’s best participants are receiving higher education at the national school of Turkmen diplomacy.
