GCRF COMPASS Community Engagement Events 2020/2021
GCRF COMPASS Panel Discussion on ‘Development Damlyama in Central Asia’
On 30 July 2020 GCRF COMPASS, Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge and Cambridge Central Asia Forum, Jesus College, University of Cambridge organised a panel discussion on “Development Damlyama: Reflecting on Development Aid Cooperation Paradigms in Central Asia”. The panel focused on the discussion of civil societies and communities in Central Asia and the involvement of international aid organisations. Dr. Karolina Kluczewska, Dr. Lorena Lombardozzi, Dr. Umed Majidi and Sinead Mowlds were the panellists. Dr. Siddharth Saxena, the Director of the Cambridge Central Asia Forum, Jesus College, University of Cambridge & Co-I, GCRF COMPASS chaired the session. Two discussants from the University of Cambridge – Prajakti Kalra and Dr. Diana T. Kudaibergenova posed questions to the panellists. The lively discussion tackled the issue of the importance of matching local needs and addressing unique local contexts and frames that are necessary in the way international aid organisations propose plans and agenda in the wider Eurasia region. The discussion continues virtually on the Slack channel “GCRF COMPASS Cambridge Team discussions” under the thread Development Damlyama and everyone is welcome to join the discussion. You can join Slack channel here: https://app.slack.com/client/T0189R1P9B3/C0183CCKRGC
GCRF COMPASS Research and Education Series September 2020-April 2021
GCRF COMPASS Cambridge, Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge and Cambridge Central Asia Forum, Jesus College, University of Cambridge organised a series of lectures for school children and youth groups in Central Asia on themes of science, environment and sustainability that started in September 2020 and will continue throughout 2020-2021 academic year. All talks are in Russian and are broadcasted live on Zoom and online on Tengri TV website (our information sponsor) where all videos are saved and viewers can watch them later (https://tengrinews.kz/news/onlayn-lektsii-ot-vyipusknikov-kembridja-vaktsinyi-415556/) and on the Cambridge Central Asia Forum YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9253cdjGLsG51nDgZA1alw).
The aim of the series is to engage school children and young people from local communities in COMPASS project member-states (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan but also the wider Central Asian region) to listen to University of Cambridge graduates on a wide array of topics such as climate change, vaccines, science, history and development. This initiative allowed our team to partner with a number of regional educational and community institutions such as: Satpayev University and Tengri TV in Kazakhstan, NGO Peshcraft in Tajikistan, Union of Economists of Turkmenistan and USAID’s Future Growth Initiative Project in Turkmenistan along with our current GCRF COMPASS partners.
The series are divided into three parts:
- The first series launched with seminars and lectures with Central Asian graduates of the University of Cambridge (see list of events below and speakers biographies in Russian and English). Speakers include leading experts in chemistry, biology, development studies and history (more information can be found on the Cambridge Central Asia Forum website here).
GCRF COMPASS Research and Education Series with University of Cambridge Graduates running from September to December 2020 include the following series of talks:
30 September Dr A. Sartbaeva, University of Bath, ‘Overcoming Cold-Chain with Cool Nanotechnology for Protecting Vaccines’
- The second series of talks and seminars launched in January 2021 and ran until March 2021 focusing on Central Asian, Belarusian and Azerbaijani community leaders. The full list of speakers and the schedule of events is listed below:
GCRF COMPASS Civil Societies Conversations Webinar Series with Eurasian Civil Society LeadersJanuary-March 2021
20 January 2021 Matluba Salikhova, Chairwoman of the Peshraft Charity Organisation (Tajikistan)
‘Peshraft and its role in Tajik society’3 February 2021 Anar Valiyev, ADA University
‘Youth and Civil Society Initiatives’17 February 2021 Andrey Selivanov, Andrey Selivanov, CEO of the Evolutio International NGO for Scientific Research Information, and Educational Programs, Minsk, Belarus.
‘Education programs and Belarussian civil society’3 March 2021 Nazgul Esengulova, Ak Terek, President of the “Ak Terek” Foundation, Bishkek,Kyrgyzstan
‘Ecological preservation projects’17 March 2021 Kirill Ossin, Eco Mangystau, Kazakhstan
‘Aral Sea and other environmental issues’31 March 201 Parviz Kurbonmamadov, Lecturer at the Bucheon University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
‘Civil society and Central Asian contemporary art’GCRF COMPASS Cambridge Series on Regional Development and Prospects of Cooperation in the Caucasus
All the talks in the series aim to bring together both academic and policy expertise from the region to discuss shared regional challenges and developmental priorities as well as potential areas of cooperation.Moderator: Dr. S.S. Saxena,Director, Cambridge Central Asia Forum, Jesus College & Co-I GCRF COMPASS
10 February 2021 Dr. Taleh Ziyadov, Director-General of Baku International Sea Trade Port CJSC, Azerbaijan
‘Regional Development and Prospects of Cooperation in the Caucasus: Economic Connectivity’24 February 2021 H.E. Tedo Japaridze, Vice-Chairman for International Relations, Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC), Georgia
‘Regional Development and Prospects of Cooperation in the Caucasus: Political Dialogue’14 April 2021 Dr. Philip Gamaghelyan, Assistant Professor, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego & Co-Founder, Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation
‘Regional Development and Prospects of Cooperation in the Caucasus: Community Engagement’
- The third series of talks and seminars will launch in March 2021 and run until May 2021 and will be dedicated to the understanding of history of knowledge and the importance of scientific and cultural networks especially in the Soviet period. The full list of speakers and the schedule of events will be published online in February 2021.