OSCE brings together Central Asian students in Kazakhstan to discuss regional security
Countering violent extremism, promoting tolerance, improving regional security, and understanding migration trends and political ideologies are the topics of this year’s OSCE-supported Central Asian Youth Network (CAYN) meeting in Almaty held from 3 to 5 September 2013.
The three-day event brings together more than 60 university students from Europe, Central Asia, and Afghanistan, as well as over a dozen speakers from academia, international organizations and NGOs. Ambassador Tetiana Izhevska, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in Office on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, who focuses on intolerance and discrimination against Christians and members of other religions, and Ambassador Adil Akhmetov, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims, will also take part in the event.
The title of this year’s seminar is “The Pendulum Swings: Empowering Central Asian Youth Against Violent Extremism”.
“Active interest and initiative of citizens play a key role in promoting democratic institutions and a stable regional environment, and you as university students are an important part of this process,” said Ambassador Natalia Zarudna, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana in her address to the seminar participants. “We are convinced that by investing in a network of young open-minded people, we can contribute to the development of the region and encourage an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence.”
Jean-Paul Rouiller, founder of the Geneva Centre for Training and Analysis of Terrorism, who was one of the keynote speakers at the event said: “Connecting future leaders of an area like Central Asia is essential for the future, as it will help them solve problems they may encounter and will improve the security environment for the region.”
The third day of the event includes a series of interactive performances organized by the Almaty--based independent theatre group ‘ARTiSHOCK’ on the theme of tolerance. Participants will also watch a play based on the terrorist attack in Moscow during the Nord-Ost musical in 2002.
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 events were held in Charvak, Uzbekistan in 2004, Lake Issyk Kul, Kyrgyzstan in 2005, and in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.