RIPPLES OF CHANGE IN CENTRAL ASIA At the end of 2022 I travelled to Kazakhstan, as Chairman of Eurasian Creative Guild to report on the early Presidential Elections and constitutional reform called by President Tokaev. It was a showcase, multimedia affair, streamed live on TV, a modern ‘progressive’ event to show the world democracy exists […]
THE FALL OF RUSSIA IN CENTRAL ASIA As a committed “Eurasianist”, I find it odd when pundits tell us this war between the Russians and the Ukrainians should terminate in the ruin and desolation of the former nation. After all, it may be expected, in the first approaches of the confined, or simple observer, that […]
EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT IT! I am finally in Astana, the capital and my old home. It is still winter but the sun is out and the streets, at this time of year, are more clear of snow than I can remember – maybe this year Nauryz will be a real spring, a real ‘new day’? […]
THE CONTEMPORARY ART OF BAHKSHI A NEW SOUND OF THE GOLDENHERITAGE OF UZBEKISTAN Uzbekistan is a country wrestling with its past and its future. Ancient historical cities where heroes such as Alexander the Great and Tamerlane walked the same smooth worn pavements as today’s tourists, need preserving, yet the country is also caught up in […]
CAN PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS SOLVE CENTRAL ASIA’S CHALLENGES? Creating Water Purification Systems for Disaster Response: A Case Study National, state and local governments frequently face complex problems that require cost effective and efficient solutions that are often constrained by both time and fiscal pressures. Government best practices developed and implemented in the US Federal government can […]
KYRGYZSTAN TOURISM KEEPS EVOLVING INTERVIEW WITH ELENA KALASHNIKOVA Elena Kalashnikova was born in 1968 and has had an active and fulfilling life based around her love of travel, alpinism and diving. She graduated from Omsk State Educational Institute (Specialty: mathematics, computer science) in 1992 but realised that tourism was her passion that she wanted to […]
Open Doors to the World of Art: Announcement of the International Festival in Kazakhstan The festival “Voices of Friends: Poetry and Visual Arts” brings together talented authors from different countries, giving them the opportunity to show their creative abilities to a wide audience and to find like-minded people. In 2023, the festival will take place […]
PEOPLE’S DIPLOMACYIN ACTION AT BURABAY In European countries they have a tradition of taking a “gap year” after college before entering university. Usually this year is devoted to travel and volunteer work, and volunteering in itself is a form of social interaction. Even members of the British royal family are included in this process (this […]
