The Forum was organised by the Earth Charter Affiliate in Kyrgyzstan, the “Sunny Country” Social Fund, and facilitated by Atabek Anarbaev, e-GLO 2 alumnus.
45 participants representing four regions of Kyrgyzstan (Batken, Osh, Jalalabad and Bishkek City) were engaged in workshops and discussions focused on promoting the values and ethics of the Earth Charter in their country, which was swept by waves of political unrest and ethnic clashes last year.
The organisers provided Earth Charter materials translated into Kyrgyz and Russian, and formed mixed working groups for discussions: governmental officials, local authorities, community leaders, NGOs, youth and educators.
By the end of the Forum the participants approved a resolution which defines the plan of action for the 2011:
- develop special modules for NGOs on ways to promote the Earth Charter in Kyrgyzstan;
- define concrete steps in integration of the Earth Charter values into the daily work of state agencies and their interaction with Kyrgyz NGOs and the international global community, using the Earth Charter as an ethical framework for such cooperation;
- elaborate specific plans for joint national Earth Charter events and activities;
- organize in mid-March the Earth Charter Youth forum in Osh (the region where the most violent ethnic clashes took place last year).
The participants of the Earth Charter Forum in Issyk-Kul expressed their determination to apply their newly acquired knowledge, materials and information in their agencies, NGOs, communities and youth organisations, as well as to create the first EC Youth group in the country.