DISCOVERY TRAVEL FORUM: UNBOXING THE BRAND The practice of international and local conferences is not new. It is a very effective way to focus on a particular issue or area of research and to get multiple views to discuss. But as soon as we shift the POV from discussing the topic in general to some […]
DISCOVER CENTRAL ASIA IN ITS ORIGINAL TRADITIONS Following the global pandemic, alternative accommodation projects have become increasingly popular in Central Asia, with a variety of unique accommodation options now available in some of the most pristine locations. Visitors can now enjoy the comfort of staying in yurts, dome houses, and even 5-star international hotels. It […]
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: NEW ATTRACTION The sheikhs of the United Arab Emirates paid France $525 million to rent the name “Louvre” for the museum in Abu Dhabi. The cost of organised tours of museums, galleries and unique architectural sites can easily reach $80,000, as can specialised creative and educational tours for artists, architects, fashionistas, history […]
EURASIAN CREATIVE GUILD (LONDON)AUTUMN FESTIVALS From 25-30 September 2023, the resort of Burabay (Kazakhstan) hosted four ground-breaking events: Poetry & Art Festival III Voices of Friends: Poetry & Art, Literary Festival XII Open Eurasian Literary Festival and Book Forum, Burabay Social Film Festival (II BISFF) and Discovery Travel Forum dedicated to creative industries in tourism. […]
A SWORD IN A STONE: THE FUTURE OF MUSEUMS Museums are an important point of attraction for many people for many reasons over the years. We used to visit them as a part of a touristic program as well as see them as an educational or entertainment venue in our everyday life. And the concept […]
IMPROVING EDUCATIONAL NEEDS FOR AUTISM IN KAZAKHSTAN The number of identified cases of autism in children in Kazakhstan has increased fivefold over the past 7 years. In the Republic of Kazakhstan according to information of the Ministry of Education (until June, 2022 of the Ministry of Education and Science) there are more than 8,000 children […]
PLAYING FOR A BETTER CENTRAL ASIA: INTRODUCING VOICES OF CENTRAL ASIA Do you know what lies beyond the mainstream media’s headlines when it comes to Central Asia? Are you curious to learn more about the human rights issues in this region? If so, you should try out a new free game app, Voices of Central […]
PRIMUS INTER PARES. KAZAKH ABLAI KHAN UNIVERSITY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND WORLD LANGUAGES IS THE FLAGSHIP OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION INTERVIEW WITH SALIMA KUNANBAYEVA For 80 years, the Ablai Khan Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages (KazUIRaWL), which has vast experience and a rich history, remains a leader in higher education, offering innovative […]
CONCEPT OF HUMANITY’S SURVIVAL STRATEGY IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM Professors O.Sabden and A.Ashirov have as part of their ‘Concept of Humanity’s Survival Strategy in the Third Millennium’ developed a concept for building a new integral innovative society with a spiritual and technological component. In order to implement the proposed theory, a new paradigm of managing […]
OCA #49 People edition Interview with GALINA SHEPELEVA TURNING ONE’S INHERENT VALUE INTO A PRECIOUS THING OCA Magazine: Tell us, please, about yourself and your creative activity / workGalina Shepeleva: My name is Galina Shepeleva, I was born 10.09.1955 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. As far back as I can remember, I’ve always painted, starting in children’s […]
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 […]
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’? […]
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 […]
To change or not to change: time to decide For decades, Central Asian countries were establishing their national systems of education. Their primary task was to transform from mostly Russian language-based programs, teachers, and materials to national language-based ones. The second type of reform was implemented to embrace the new views on education goals: schools […]
Why Kazakhstan needs radical reform to modernize its education system and how it should be done Since its foundation in 1991, KIMEP University has provided its students with a world-class, Western-style education, unparalleled leadership training, and exceptional professional development and orientation. Many of the over 14,000 graduates have become prominent leaders and have made important […]
New Book Seeks to Help Fight Against Coming World Hunger…and Help Solve Other Critical Issues Together with the editors of Hertfordshire Press (Great Britain), the rector of KazNARU, Tlektes Yespolov, has published a new book, “The Kazakh Model for a research University”, dedicated to the research of the university. This invaluable experience can help the […]
The Mysterious Cave Spring Discovering the cultural heritage of Kazakhstan Zhylagan-ata is located in the Turkestan region, it is included in the map of sacred Kazakhstan and is among the most valuable monuments of the country’s natural heritage. The legend of this place is characterised by the places of a special child. But no one knows […]
Greening Cities Through Green Campuses Over the past few years, the themes of sustainable development and the challenges related to climate change are rapidly moving from the pages of academic journals and academic conferences to the front pages of popular newspapers, TV talk shows, and social media. Even everyday discussions of ordinary citizens often go […]
A ‘Stan’ No More? – Should Kazakhstan Change its Name? In recent months, in a bid to rebrand and distance itself from its often turbulent neighbours, the perennial question of whether Kazakhstan should change its name has raised its head once more. First mooted by Nursultan Nazarbayev back in February 2014, the former president argued […]
Dr Shahid Qureshi 4 October 1965 – 10 February 2022 Open Central Asia Magazine was deeply saddened to hear of the sudden demise of one of our friends and close supporters, Dr Shahid Qureshi, on 10th February 2022 at the age of 56. Dr Shahid Qureshi was a senior analyst with BBC and chief editor […]
Burabay’s Environmental Problems At the end of the nineteenth century, the economic development of Burabay and the increase of its population inevitably led to unlimited exploitation of its natural resources. Excessive deforestation led to the formation of wastelands, which were used by pastoralists for grazing. These cattle were then supplied to the local cannery, which […]
Lessons of the Hot Days of ‘Kazakh Winter’ for Central Asian Integration Disturbances in first half of January 2022 caused by popular unrest in Kazakhstan can be remembered as the ‘Kazakh winter’ – events which shocked the very foundation of the political system of this state. They revealed a deeply rooted vicious regime of diarchy […]
The world of space of Armat Bektas is mostly linear, at the subconscious level he structures everything according to the principle of harmonizing reality of the surrounding world which is “nonlinear” that is to say unharmonized by consciousness. The artist is absorbed by the idea of creating a new philosophy of the Great Steppe in […]
INTERWIEW WITH LIDIYA DROZDOVA OCA Magazine: Tell us, please, about yourself and your creative activity.Lidiya Drozdova: I live in Kazakhstan. I create from the beauty around me and give the happiness of creativity to everyone who wants to learn how to paint. I am the worker of Kazakh art, member of the Kazakhstan Designers Union, […]
INTERVIEW WITH MAKSATKANTARBAYEV OCA Magazine: Tell us, please, about yourself and your creative activity / workMaksat Kantarbayev: I am from Kazakhstan, come from the village Kulan, whis is placed in Zhambyl region. I am a Member of the Union of Artists of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and became a member of the Eurasian Creative Guild […]
I ALWAYS WAS CREATIVE IN SOME WAY OCA Magazine: Tell us, please, about yourself and your creative activityTatiana Kaunis: Historically I always was creative in some way. When I was a child I used to compose fairy tales for myself and play it. At school I wrote poems and short stories, several times I won […]
Often overlooked by your classic holiday maker, Central Asia has always exercised a powerful fascination over a certain kind of traveler. Home to some of the most ancient cultures and breathtaking landscapes on earth, it is nevertheless only lightly trodden by wanderers and merchants. But traffic on the silk road is once again picking up. […]
I used to dream of visiting Central Asia. For 12 years, first while studying in Russia, and then working in jobs connected with the Russian-speaking world, I longed to one day find myself in a city on the Silk Route, talking with the people, and immersing myself in the markets. In 2017 I booked a […]
Michael Gifford joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1981, with his first ambassador role coming in 2004 when he served as the British Ambassador to Yemen. He then moved to be the Deputy Head of Mission in Cairo before becoming the Ambassador to North Korea in October 2012. Following intensive Russian language training he […]
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