A story of success of the Politics and Security Programme graduate of 2018 Khurshed Abduqodiri, where he talks about how the Academy contributed to his professional growth and his continuous ties with the alma-mater. Khurshed is currently working as an Advisor to the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Regional Project Ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change in high mountainous regions of Central Asia, which is being implemented in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

We are glad to present our next alumnus - Medet Suleimen - and his professional and personal success in advancing democratic values in Kazakhstan. Since 2014 Medet is working as a Programme Officer for the Friedrich Ebert Foundation Kazakhstan Office in Almaty and manages a wide array of projects in the fields of foreign policy and youth policy.

On 22 May Ms. Elvira Kalmurzaeva, alumna of 2015 and currently the Executive Director at the International Debate Education Association (IDEA) Central Asia, discussed the impact of COVID-19 crisis on youth of Kyrgyzstan and how young people tackle it at the webinar on “The Covid-19 Generation: How Youth Can Help Strengthen Security in the Current Crisis” organized jointly by the Albanian OSCE Chairmanship and the Secretariat. Ms. Kalmurzaeva discussed issues related to young people’s access to education and employment opportunities during the current crisis.

Today we would like to introduce our next alumna – a 2015 graduate of Politics and Security Programme – Ms Dilfuza Kurolova. As an enthusiastic and aspiring leader, Ms Kurolova is actively promoting human rights and the development of civil society in Uzbekistan. She is among the top 100 most influential national and international experts admitted by the Nationwide Movement “Yuksalish”. Currently, she is a focal point/legal consultant of the International Commission of Jurists, the Swiss NGO in Uzbekistan. In addition, she is a part of the Social Development Team and citizen engagement project for the ECA region at the World Bank. Previously, she worked with labour rights and feedback mechanisms during cotton harvest 2016-2018 and on the elimination of child and forced labour in Uzbekistan.