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Interview with Meerim Omurzakova – one participant in the initiative with Novi Ritm

Featured image: Meerim Omurzakova, second from the right, with Novi Ritm volunteers. Since 2013, Central Asia Solidarity Groups and Novi Ritm have been working together to empower youth, particularly girls and women, in southern Kyrgyzstan. Our shared aim is that the local youth is well-informed about their rights and actively engage in the protection of human rights. This participations is seen as a vital component for cultivating a democratic and inclusive civil society at all levels. Novi Ritm has a mentorship program designed to forge connections between experienced individuals with prior engagement in the organization’s activities and volunteers newly...

Empowering young people and advancing youth rights in Southern Kyrgyzstan: recent highlights from our collaboration with Novi Ritm

Centralasiengrupperna partners with Novi Ritm, a youth-led organization from the south of Kyrgyzstan. Our joint efforts are dedicated to enhancing young people’s awareness of their rights and encouraging their participation in decision-making processes, both at the national and community levels. This blog post offers a summary of our recent activities together.  For a more in-depth look at our collaborative work throughout 2023, we invite you to explore our previous blog posts, available here and here.  Throughout October and November, Novi Ritm hosted several meetings and training sessions for its Girls Group. These gatherings served as a platform for promoting...

Civil society and democratic backsliding in Kyrgyzstan: Reflections from Miriam’s two months in Osh

Featured image: in Kyrgyz, “Бары алдыда” translates to ‘Everything is ahead‘ A few weeks have passed since I came home from a two month residency in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, but I am just starting to digest all the experiences that I had the chance to collect. This was my first visit to Central Asia and my already high expectations for the food, the nature and – not the least – the people I would meet, were far surpassed. I made new friends, overate on borsok, climbed mountains, and gained invaluable new perspectives from Novi Ritm, the civil society organization that...

Reflections from Agnes’ 2 months in Osh: Activism in a shrinking space for civil society (and a little bit of friends and food)

1 week after arriving in Sweden again after two months in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, I am back in my collective in Stockholm, at my desk. Looking out the window, into the gray and rainy Swedish autumn, I try to recall and reflect about the time spent in Osh during my residency with Novi Ritm. I can safely say that the most rewarding aspect of the experience was the people. Colleagues, friends, youth and vendors you meet on the street or in the Bazar. Everybody with an enormous curiosity and a willingness to show and teach you their culture – especially...

Youth-led change in Southern Kyrgyzstan: promoting gender equality, human rights, and media literacy with our local partner Novi Ritm

CAG and Novi Ritm, our partner organization based in Southern Kyrgyzstan, have been working together for several years to empower the local youth, particularly girls and women, by increasing their awareness of their rights and promoting their participation in decision-making processes at the national and community level. You can read more about our current format and objectives of cooperation with Novi Ritm via this link.    In this blog post, we would like to highlight some recent activities undertaken by Novi Ritm within the framework of our partnership. These include activities promoting ideas of intersectional feminism, human rights, media...

Empowering youth for lasting change in Southern Kyrgyzstan

In 2023, Centralasiengrupperna initiated a new format of cooperation with local partners in Central Asia, allowing for long-term support. Funded by SIDA via ForumCiv’s Large Partnership Funding program, the new collaboration format enables us to provide sustainable and lasting support to our partners, which marks an important step in CAG’s ongoing progress from project-oriented work towards long-term partnerships....

Interview with Anita and Sara, new CAG interns

The picture above is of Anita and Sara, who visited CAG’s office in Malmö as a part of their preparation for an internship in Kyrgyzstan to work with our partner Novi Ritm, a youth organization based in Osh. We asked Sara and Anita a few questions about themselves and about their expectations from the internship.  Tell us a bit about yourself.  Anita: I’m doing my masters right now in Security and Crisis Studies at the Swedish Defense University. I’ve already been involved in civil society for quite a long time, primarily through the Swedish United Nations Association, so I...

Promoting gender equality and equal access to education in Kyrgyzstan with our local partner Novi Ritm

For several years, Centralasiengrupperna has closely cooperated with our partner organization Novi Ritm in Southern Kyrgyzstan to promote active and meaningful participation of young people in the civil society sector. CAG has supported Novi Ritm in the implementation of activities that aim to increase the capacities of young people to influence their own lives and the lives of the communities they come from. One of the goals of the running project with Novi Ritm is to create equal education opportunities for young people and to inform local youth about their civil rights.  This blogpost is dedicated to the most...

Stepping stones towards Youth Participation – implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 in Central Asia [explainer clip]

  There are numerous factors affecting peace and security in Central Asia. Arbitrary borders drawn during the Soviet era have resulted in natural resources, such as water, being disproportionately split between the Central Asian countries. Such a division has given rise to several cases of conflicts and political tension in the area. The region’s countries have since their independence in 1991 found themselves in national political turmoil on various occasions, as well as international influence from Russia and China affecting the ways the different countries are run. This volatile environment means young people in Central Asia are currently facing...

Youth Workers from Sweden and Poland visit Kyrgyzstan

“Never doubt that a group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – once Margaret Mead said. Such a meaningful statement, isn’t it? We believe that changes come through people; open discussions about challenging issues, exchanging ideas on making the world a better place for each and every one of us.  Central Asia Solidarity Groups, (Sweden) together with its partner organizations Novi Ritm (Kyrgyzstan) and KobieTY (Poland) organized mobility of youth workers that involved more than 20 participants in Kyrgyzstan in January this year. The purpose of the mobility...