On 25-26 September the OSCE Academy together with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Kyrgyzstan held its third annual “Transformation in Central Asia” conference titled ‘Glocal Transformation in Central Asia.’ The event was initiated and moderated by Prof. Dr. Anja Mihr, DAAD Associate Professor at the OSCE Academy and opened by Dr. Alexander Wolters, Director of OSCE Academy and Philipp Jahn, Resident Representative of Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Kyrgyzstan.
This year the focus of the conference was on “Glocal Transformation”, namely how global norms, such as human rights, good governance, trade, health or environmental standards and goals, impact domestic and local politics in Central Asia states – and beyond. Experts and Researchers from Central Asia and Europe discussed the impact of the global norms on the way on how citizens express their need for change or support, and at the same time how governments respond to economic, social and political challenges are dealt with.
Sessions were opened by three Keynote speeches: Dr. Joern Graevingholt, German Development Institute, Germany, talking about the global constellations and state fragility; Dr. Sebastian Schiek, Senior Researcher, Sustainability Partnerships across Central Eurasia and Europe, Germany, presenting the findings from and reflections on the Central Asia Forecasting; and Uuriintuya Batsaikhan, Economist, Independent Researcher, Brussels, Belgium, discussing the economic transition or transformation in Central Asia.
The recording of the event will be soon available on the Academy’s YouTube channel.