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Life in Kyrgyzstan discussed at Bishkek conference

29.10.2019

The fifth annual Life in Kyrgyzstan (LiK) conference brought together over 100 participants from 10 countries, and served as a stimulating platform of intellectual exchange on social and economic changes in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia. The conference gathered international experts from the government and public sector, development agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia and research institutions to promote evidence-based policymaking in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, from 23 to 24 October.

Speakers addressed a range of relevant topics to Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia, including: migration, agriculture, nutrition, health, youth employment, poverty, social protection and social norms. The keynote speech was delivered by Louise Grogan, Professor of Economics at the University of Guelph (Canada), on the legacy of the Soviet Union’s impact on gender roles in Central Asia.

The conference was organized by the University of Central Asia’s (UCA) Institute of Public Policy and Administration, the Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops (IGZ), the International Security and Development Center (ISDC) and the World Bank. It was supported by the Aga Khan Foundation Kyrgyzstan, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development and the United States Agency for International Development.

“The socioeconomic issues facing Central Asia are analytically complex, and evidence-based studies are required to inform policies and practice. UCA is deeply committed to playing a solid role in research, and is committed to ensuring that this stimulating forum continues to develop over the years to come,” says Bohdan Krawchenko, Dean of UCA’s Graduate School of Development.

The conference announced the release of the 5th phase of the LiK study, carried out in 2016, as well as the launch of the 6th phase of data collection in fall 2019. The LiK study is an open access, nationally representative, multi-topic longitudinal survey of 3 000 households and 8 000 individuals from all seven regions of Kyrgyzstan. The survey follows the same households and individuals, collecting socioeconomic data over time on topics such as household demographics, expenditures, assets, migration, employment, social networks and more. The first survey was conducted in 2010 and then replicated in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016. The data is freely available for non-profit research, policy analysis and teaching purposes.

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News and photo from the University of Central Asia (UCA)