June 11, 2010

RESEARCH SEMINAR: Youth Wings of Political Parties in Kyrgyzstan: Diffused, but Promising?

SPEAKER: Aida Alymbaeva, Director, Social Research Centre, American University of Central Asia

Synopsis: A number of youth wings were formed with political parties in Kyrgyzstan from 2005 through 2007, but they have grown very slowly. They have become neither the pivotal backbone of various youth groups nor their vehicle of political representation. In Kyrgyzstan from 2007- early 2010 opposition parties were repressed and this is regarded as the key reason why youth wings were diverted from strategic planning, programming, and mass recruitment of new members. Limited financial resources are seen as another barrier limiting their scope of activities, leaving them completely reliant on funding from their party leaders. In leader-driven parties, which almost all political parties in Kyrgyzstan are, youth wings depend heavily on the directives of their party leader. As a result, youth wing members, who are barely represented on parties’ governing bodies, enjoy limited autonomy. This presentation is based on a survey research conducted from January to March 2010.

Bio: Aida Alymbaeva holds an MS in Public Policy from Rochester Institute of Technology, USA. She studied in the USA under the Edmund S. Muskie/FREEDOM Support Act Graduate Fellowship. She has been the Director of the Social Research Center, AUCA in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan since late 2005. Aida was the 2007 Joel L. Fleishman Civil Society Fellow at the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, Duke University, the 2008 Public Policy Analysts Fellow of the Institute of Public Affairs, Poland and the 2009 and 2010 Fellow of the Regional Competence-Building for Think Tanks in the South Caucasus and Central Asia of the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs. She previously carried out research on civil society, social entrepreneurship and civic education in Kyrgyzstan. 

This research was made possible thanks to the support of the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs

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May 28, 2010

PRESENTATION: Draft of the Kyrgyz Constitution 2010: Fundamentals and Principles

SPEAKER: Dr. Gulnara ISKAKOVA, Acting Professor, International and Business Law, AUCA and Expert, Centre for Political and Legal Studies, Kyrgyzstan

After the recent April events, a new draft of the Constitution was initiated by and prepared under the guidance of the Interim government of the Kyrgyz Republic. The Kyrgyz citizens will have to vote on the new draft Constitution on June 27, 2010 and thereby decide on the future development path of Kyrgyzstan.

Dr. Gulnara Iskakova, who was a member of the Constitution Council that reviewed public proposals to the new draft Constitution, will speak about proposed key changes to it. The invited discussants will debate about the influence of the new Constitution, if adopted, on future development path of the country.