Central Asian Youth Network seminar focuses on building security communities

A three-day Central Asian Youth Network (CAYN) seminar took place in Almaty. The event brought together more than 50 university students from across Central Asia to discuss contemporary security issues as they relate to the region.

Dina Iglikova, the CAYN Project Co-ordinator, welcomed the students by saying: "Over the course of the next few days we will learn about OSCE values and expand the ranks of our CAYN student security community by getting to know one another, employing critical thinking skills, and breaking down stereotypes."

This year's CAYN seminar was focused on issues of regional identity, establishing contacts on a grassroots level, and the OSCE's role as an institution in building a security community. A dozen speakers with regional expertise shared with the students their visions of Central Asian identity and geopolitics, and gave presentations on some of the region's security challenges. During the seminar, inquiry-based learning will be promoted through extensive discussions, interactive games and role-playing activities, the OSCE Centre in Astana reports.

As in past years, the CAYN participants were chosen through a competitive selection process that required candidates to submit a written essay.

Rukhshona Sinavbarova, a student from Tajikistan said: "Today's lectures have been very interesting - we received a lot of new information and engaged in discussions. The new information I learned about Central Asia will be particularly useful in my studies."

Zahid Jalali, an Afghan diplomat working in Kyrgyzstan and one of the seminar's speakers said: "This event is an excellent platform in that it brings together Central Asian students with a strong interest in the region's future. As many of the region's security challenges can be solved through co-operation and integration, it is very important that the students have been given this opportunity to network with their Central Asian peers."

This seminar is part of the OSCE's efforts to enhance young people's understanding of contemporary security threats and explain the OSCE's role in responding to them. It was organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana with the support of other OSCE field offices in the region. Previous CAYN seminars were held in Charvak, Uzbekistan in 2004, Lake Issyk Kul, Kyrgyzstan in 2005, and in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2009 and 2010.