Bishkek, October 15, 2021 - Resilience-building activities in preventing violent extremism are being implemented in nine pilot local communities across Kyrgyzstan.   

Advisory groups made up of youth, women, religious leaders, law enforcement and Local Self Government (LSG) representatives were created based on existing Community Prevention Centers (CPCs). Together with these groups, violence, prevention, de-radicalization, social reintegration and mentoring were identified and vulnerable groups in each local community were selected. 

In September and October, the first phase of workshops was held with each advisory group, where they received basic knowledge of the history, causes, factors and differences between violent extremism and other forms of social tension. Participants also discussed global experiences and practices related to preventing violent extremism at the local community level. 

In the next phases, there will be trainings on conflict analysis, the roles and powers of LSG and local communities in conflict prevention, as well as a workshop on developing local plans to prevent violent extremism.

Ikbalzhan Mirsayitov, an expert on religious security and trainer of the event, said preventive work, especially in the country's regions, is always in demand. "In fact, in due to Covid-19, the topic of preventing extremism has taken a back seat.  The usefulness of these trainings is that we are warning our citizens of the existence of such a threat, secondly, we need to work with young people and at the same time strengthen the role and place of the Community Prevention Centers (CPCs) in the prevention of violent extremism. In this regard, in the regions, we talk about the role and purpose of CPCs in accordance with national legislation. It is important to say that all this work is timely and, moreover, it is necessary for the CPCs themselves to conduct trainings in schools among young people," he added.

Chorgoeva Saltanat, executive secretary of the Kochkor ayil okmotu in Naryn region was enthusiastically exploring what she and her colleagues in the CPC could do to prevent radical and extremist phenomena in their home villages and communities.  "Our working group of 12 people was organized this spring, including 3 ayil okmotu people, 3 aksakal court chairmen, a neighborhood inspector, representatives of women and youth keneshes, social workers and lawyers. Our task is to inform and educate people widely for preventive measures," she shared. 

UNDP project specialist Artur Bukalaev noted "In partnership with the Eurasia Foundation Central Asia, we further plan to assist in the development of local plans for the prevention of extremism. In addition, we have small financial resources for the partial implementation of these plans, of course, we also count on the support of the local budget in the implementation of the plan. In addition, we want to actively involve local youth in the work of the project through training of youth affairs specialists and their involvement in the implementation of the above plan.”

Strengthening Community Resilience is part of the UNDP in the Kyrgyz Republic project "Strengthening Resilience to Violent Extremism in Asia” (STRIVE Asia, EU-UN Joint Partnership).

The implementation of the project for the prevention of extremism has been underway since 2020 in 9 pilot communities:

1. Balykchy city of Issyk-Kul oblast;

2. Kochkor aiyl okmotu of Naryn oblast;

3. Kara-Balta city of Chui oblast;

4. Kara-Buura aiyl okmotu of Talas oblast;

5. Chek-Abad aiyl okmotu of Osh oblast;

6. Nookat City, Osh oblast;

7. Bazar-Korgon ai okmotu of Jalal-Abad oblast;

8. Aidarken town of Batken oblast;

9. Isfana town of Batken oblast.

STRIVE Asia's overall goal is to contribute to the prevention of violent extremism (PVE) in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia through a collaborative multi-stakeholder approach, including governments, security actors, local governments and communities, civil society, academia, media, and the private sector.

Photos from event available here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWLFe6g 

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Contacts for media: Nurzhan Alymkanova, Communications Specialist, 0555068833, nurzhan.alymkanova@undp.org