Guests from the American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan
Last week, GRÓ LRT had the pleasure of welcoming seven guests from the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) in Kyrgyzstan, including three staff members and four students. The staff members where Mr Kanat Sultanaliev, Director of Tian Shan Policy Center, Dr Ruslan Rahimov, Associate Professor at Anthropology and International Development Program, and Ms Cholpon Kuskakbaeva, Coordinator for Student Affairs. The accompanying students, Asanbekova Asel, Atabek Kyzy Eldiana, Dzhovozova Asel, and Moldoshev Bakai, are all pursuing studies in Anthropology, Urbanism and International Development at AUCA.
During the visit, Mr Kanat Sultanaliev gave a lecture to the GRÓ LRT fellows on Sustainable pasture management in Kyrgyzstan, and the AUCA students gave lectures on “Evolving pastures: Historical analysis of pasture management from pre-soviet to modern Kyrgyzstan” and “Voice of villagers: Narratives on climate change adaptation strategies in Issikul region, Kyrgyzstan”.
The AUCA guest met with faculty members of the Agricultural University of Iceland, specialists from the Land and Forest Institute, and the Director General of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries in Iceland. They also participated in study sessions on land assessment field methods alongside GRÓ LRT’s six-month training fellows and took part in a land assessment field trip to Vindáshlíð in West Iceland. Other activities included a visit to a local farmer and a visit to the GRÓ Geothermal Training Programme.
The visit from AUCA is a part of GRÓ LRT and AUCA Erasmus+ Mobility Project, running from 2022-2024. The visit follows GRÓ LRT’s visit to AUCA in October of last year. GRÓ LRT has been collaborating with organizations in Kyrgyzstan since 2010, when the first candidate from Kyrgyzstan attended the GRÓ LRT six-month training programme.