Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (July 10, 2012) – The first seminar of the Summer School of Democracy on Civic Education for young leaders of Kyrgyzstan took off Bishkek. 50 young leaders aged 18-28 were selected from various regions of the country to take part in the school. During five days they will take part in sessions conducted by experts and have discussions with famous politicians, businessmen and leaders of civil society. Well-known public figures and state officials will also be guests of the Summer School of Democracy.
The school aims to promote civic education and strengthen leadership potential of youth. The school programme covers such topics as “Introduction of Common Framework of Democracy”, “Politics, Governance and Civic Education”, “Rural Development”, “Mass Media and Gender”, “Economics”. Vital issues in the sphere of politics, economy, social justice, building democracy and human rights will also be discussed during the sessions.
“We are interested in strengthening capacity of future leaders, including youth representatives from our target communities, on the topics of democracy, governance and rule of law. Within the frames of our project, we are promoting the concepts of good governance and social justice, which will be also covered in the course of school sessions” said in her opening remarks Anara Alymkulova, manager of the “Operationalising Good Governance for Social Justice” project, one of the school partners.
The first workshop of the school will last till July 14 in Bishkek and the second workshop will be held in Issyk-Kul on August 21-26, followed by a mentorship programme, where the alumni of the Summer School of Democracy will become mentors for 40 representatives of socially vulnerable youth.
The school for young leaders of Kyrgyzstan was initiated by Jasa.kg programme of the International Youth Foundation under financial support of USAID and is implemented in partnership with the EU-UN “Operationalising Good Governance for Social Justice” joint project and the Youth Programme of the Soros Foundation-Kyrgyzstan. Official media partner is “Vecherny Bishkek” (www.vb.kg) and the official communication partner is “Kyrgyz Telcom” which will provide internet access to participants.
“Operationilising Good Governance for Social Justice” Project was launched in October 2011 and will be implemented during 36 months until October 2014. The Project aims to increase and render more equitable rights to public services for citizens, especially for vulnerable groups - women, youth and children in 30 rural municipalities in seven regions of Kyrgyzstan. This project is implemented by UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women and UNESCO. The European Union co-finances this programme together with the above-mentioned UN agencies.
