By uniting higher education institutions in both countries, UniLinks aimed to enhance Kazakhstani universities’ financial and administrative management, strengthen their capacity to produce and promote high-quality research, and diversify their financing options.  

UniLinks approached this goal in two phases. First, Eurasia Foundation organized a tailored study tour for three representatives from three Kazakhstani universities in West Kazakhstan Region. Participants visited various American partner universities that specialize in their area of focus. The study tour provided participants the opportunity to learn first-hand how American universities manage administrative, financial, and research priorities and expose participants to innovative ideas. In the second phase, EF competitively granted funding to one Kazakh university to implement an initiative with an American partner.  

By enhancing Kazakhstani universities’ operations and establishing mutually beneficial relationships with American peers, Eurasia Foundation supported these institutions to promote effective learning and knowledge sharing long beyond the program’s end.

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The theme of Astana Expo 2017 “Future Energy” was green technologies, sustainable development, energy for all, and energy security in the future. The United States participated by hosting a USA Pavilion, which was designed to educate and inform foreign audiences about the United States and convey the story of America’s “Infinite Energy” through its partnerships and technological innovations. The USA Pavilion also helped promote broad U.S. commercial and public diplomacy interests and people-to-people ties within Kazakhstan and Eurasia.

Click here to watch the swearing-in ceremony for the USA Pavilion’s Student Ambassadors and explore the Ambassadors’ adventures on Facebook and Twitter.

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The program had four inter-related objectives:

• Foster a cohort of responsible young leaders;
• Promote greater public transparency and accountability;
• Enhance society’s ability to quickly respond to emerging opportunities; and
• Build the capacity of local organizations to be financially viable and responsive to constituents.

Results as of November 22, 2023

YOUTH LEADERSHIP

• 480 young leaders from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
• 170 youth successfully graduated CAYLA’s e-learning series
• 8 online courses
• 85 coaching sessions
• 67 Youth Leadership Grants
• 15 Social Idea Accelerator Grants

In 2020, SICA launched the Central Asia Youth Leadership Academy (CAYLA) for responsible young leaders who share goals, values, and passion for positive change in their communities. The inaugural cohort included 163 young leaders from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Within three years, SICA recruited 480 young leaders from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan from more than 2,439 applicants. Each cycle, launched with a CAYLA Regional Kickoff Conference, offered young leaders inspiration, training, and mentorship opportunities. CAYLA members studied foundational skills in community engagement and leadership via interactive and engaging online activities. After graduating from CAYLA, the participants applied their new knowledge and experience through community change projects, supported with small grants and targeted technical assistance from SICA. At each step, CAYLA members had an opportunity to network with their peers, local leaders, established CSOs, and government officials to share lessons about effective community initiatives.

POLICY, RESEARCH, AND OUTREACH

• 78 participants from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
• 81 professionals completed data visualization training and published compelling visualizations of issues in Central Asia
• 2 research apprenticeships funded and facilitated in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
• 20 Transparency Grants awarded
• 14 Policy Research Projects awarded

The SICA Policy Research School (PRS) offered mentoring, workshops, on-the-job training, and peer-to-peer exchanges for CSOs, think tanks, and independent researchers that build needed capacities for participation in policy development and the role of watchdogs in monitoring the public sector. PRS engaged its members in an advanced budget monitoring and public procurement transparency curriculum tailored to the policy areas of highest priority for them and aimed at improving ongoing initiatives and designing future campaigns on the budget process. SICA also awarded grants to support outreach and research projects in Central Asia that strengthened civil society’s role in promoting transparency, public accountability, and policy research.

EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES

• 107 Innovative Solution Grants awarded in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
• 18 In-Kind Grants awarded
• 3 Exchange Network Grants awarded

SICA was designed to provide civil society actors with the resources they need to strengthen their work and address the priorities of their communities. To allow civil society to identify where they see the greatest need for investment, SICA provided resources through ongoing, flexible grant competitions to solicit and support timely project ideas and promote positive citizen participation and social innovations. Projects funded promoted transparency and accountability, revitalized communities, and opportunities and protections for all. In total, SICA conducted 18 forums, reaching approximately 270,000 people.

INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY

• 84 organizations engaged as members of the Institutional Development Program from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
• 24 institutional development experts trained to use the SICA Institutional Assessment Toolkit
• 6 civil society workshops

Private organizations perform varied and important tasks in Central Asian countries, and SICA developed the skills, tools, and capacities of such organizations to broaden their funding sources and increase engagement with their constituents. Organizations from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan joined the Institutional Development Program. To support an evidence-based approach for capacity building in Central Asia, SICA developed an Institutional Assessment Toolkit that its experts used to conduct tailored assessments and provide training in targeted areas for growth. In 2021, SICA began offering Institutional Development Grants to help organizations address capacity gaps and better pursue their organizational missions.

Learn more about SICA on the program’s website.

This program description is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole responsibility of Eurasia Foundation and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

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With the Initiative, Eurasia Foundation helped anti-trafficking CSOs in Central Asia develop individualized multi-year strategies and plans, train and provide professional support to staff, and organize regional workshops and forums. The program also supported a robust network of civil society representatives, lawyers, and media experts across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, who met regularly to collaborate on successes and challenges in the anti-trafficking space. By uniting varied actors to tackle this intrinsically cross-border issue, the Initiative enhanced the sustainability and effectiveness of anti-trafficking efforts throughout the region.

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Launched in 2013, EF’s Online School of Social Entrepreneurship strengthened the capacity of young leaders in Central Asia to build more prosperous and stable communities innovatively and sustainably. The program fostered robust networks and professional exchanges among a broad group of Central Asian social innovators, and ultimately grew to include over 900 community leaders from across Central Asia.

The School offered courses covering business plan development, fundraising, project management, and financial sustainability. It provided participants practical, hands-on information so they were left equipped with the necessary tools to implement social development projects in the real world. The School fostered social projects focused on identifying alternative energy resources, improving access to education, and increasing awareness of HIV/AIDS among young people. Through the School, EF built a foundation for the long-term development of civil society in the region.

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From 2011 to 2014, EBL made legal representation more readily available for vulnerable populations in Central Asia, especially rural women, at-risk youth, and persons with disabilities. In each country, hub non-governmental organizations provided training and consultation to a broad network of grassroots organizations, community leaders, and governmental officials. The program offered pro bono legal services and supported the establishment of legal clinics at universities as well as government-sponsored legal aid centers. Through a small grants program, EBL spearheaded public awareness campaigns on access to justice issues such as violence against women and children.

EBL produced significant results in increasing citizens’ demand for justice in rural areas and in raising the practical knowledge of government representatives responsible for the protection of vulnerable groups. EBL also raised the visibility and profile of access to justice issues on the national reform agendas of each country, resulting in tangible expansion and improvement in the quality of legal services for citizens in need in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The program worked to bring national legislation and practices across the three countries in line with international standards. EBL provided commentary on new legal aid legislation in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan and offered actionable steps to the government of Kyrgyzstan to improve compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Through EBL, more than 1,700 civil society leaders and government representatives received training and support. In addition, EBL supported nearly 550 court cases on behalf of vulnerable people and held over 40,000 legal consultations across the region.

To learn about the impact of EBL’s work, watch this video:

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Launched in 2010 with support from the U.S. Department of State, PYJ sought to expand upon the success of Kloop, an online news site and media school in Bishkek that provides both hands-on training and a platform for young journalists to publish their work. Operating since 2008, Kloop distinguished itself as a prominent news outlet and blogging platform in the country.

Through PYJ, EF expanded the Kloop model, establishing similar youth media schools in Almaty, Kazakhstan; Dushanbe, Tajikistan; and Osh, Kyrgyzstan. These schools taught young journalists practical skills in five key modules: news writing, social media, photography, media ethics and law, and videography. Students applied their new knowledge while undergoing a rigorous editorial review, resulting in the publication of their work online through the Kloop network. Over the course of the program, PYJ trained over 500 aspiring journalists and gave them the opportunity to publish over 5,550 articles in Russian, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, and Kazakh languages. The PYJ program helped launch the careers of dozens of journalists working at independent outlets in Central Asia. PYJ alumni work at Vecherniy Bishkek and Radio Liberty in Kyrgyzstan; Interfax Kazakhstan and Vlast in Kazakhstan; and at AsiaPlus and Farazh in Tajikistan.

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