The concentration of "Peace and Conflict Study" of the Faculty of "Liberal Arts and Sciences" announces that you have the opportunity to partake in the first-ever Yntymak Week, a global event taking place right here in Bishkek on the occasion of the Global Peace Day.

Yntymak Week will occur September 18-22, 2023 and will be attended by representatives of international and local peacebuilding organizations, US, European, and Central Asian ambassadors, local government officials, activists, and more.

Yntymak Week (YW) is a unique platform created by the actors engaged in peacebuilding activities within Kyrgyzstan, particularly Acted, International Alert, PeaceNexus Foundation, Saferworld, Search for Common Ground, the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in the Kyrgyz Republic, and UN Women to reflect on and share the information within the community on the results of its peacebuilding work. The events and activities of Yntymak Week will focus on the following four thematic areas:

● Effective Natural Resource Management and Climate Change Adaptation;

● Social Cohesion and Solidarity;

● Women’s Empowerment;

● Fair and Responsive Governance.

To learn more about Yntymak Week, visit www.yntymakweek.org.

AS A STUDENT, you may contribute to Yntymak Week by participating in Essay and Photo

Contests. All students currently enrolled in universities, colleges, or other higher educational and

special secondary educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan, regardless of their citizenship, are

eligible to take part in the Essay and Photo Contests.

Essay Contest

In your essay, you have to address and reflect on the following questions:

● What does “peace” mean for you as an individual and a citizen of your country?

● How can you and your community contribute to peace building at local and national

levels?

● What do you think are the key drivers of sustainable peace in the world?

Format: 500-700 words, single-spaced, 12-point font, with the title, author, email and date

mentioned in the essay, with all sources used in the essay properly cited.

Language: Essays can be written in one of the following languages - Kyrgyz, Russian, and

English

Deadline: Submit your essay via yntymakweek@gmail.com as pdf file by September 15, 2023.

Selection process: All essays will be screened by the members of the Screening Committee.

Prize: Three best essays will be selected and published online on the Yntymak Week website.

The winners will be notified by September 19, 2023, and invited to the Award Ceremony on the

Closing Day of the Yntymak Week. A finalist of the essay contest will have an opportunity to

start paid internship at one of the member organizations of the Peacebuilding Hub.