The world is a different place these days as COVID-19 spreads its wings in all directions (officially reaching Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan by the time of writing on March 18). When we look back on these unusual times, I think we will see that coronavirus achieved what no politician, activist, or movement has yet managed …
Tag: young people
Youth unemployment in Kazakhstan
The blog is back for another year! 2020 represents my ninth year of blogging on education, society and politics in Central Asia. Over the lifetime of the blog, I've posted almost 300 stories that have been viewed over 50,000 times and earned nearly 1,500 subscribers. Thanks to everyone who reads the blog, whether occasionally or …
Stripped to their last pair of knickers… currency devaluation and protest in Kazakhstan
With everything that's going on in Ukraine, you've probably missed a much smaller scale series of protests that have taken place this month in Kazakhstan. These protests, stimulated by the government's decision to devalue the tenge (Kazakh currency) by nearly 20%, are nonetheless noteworthy. Pretty much for the first time in its post-Soviet existence, young people in …
Growing gaps in Kazakh society?
Sorry for the silence from this blog. Firstly, there hasn't been much happening in Central Asian HE (or not that I have seen) - no high heels scandals this month! Secondly, we're in the summer term at the University where I work and that means exams, panicking students, organising everything for next year and generally …
Youth and Public Policy in Kyrgyzstan
A report has been published [en] [ru] today which for the first time attempts to undertake an audit of the relationship between young people and public policy in contemporary Kyrgyzstan. Whilst I haven't been able to read it in full, it looks like a sincere and thorough attempt to map the landscape, highlight weaknesses (many, …
