Central Asian Youth Network alumni learn about OSCE in Vienna

On 28 February 2014, five participants from the Central Asian Youth Network (CAYN) completed their three-day study visit to Vienna to learn about the work of OSCE institutions and the organization’s comprehensive approach to security.

The members of the group represent all five Central Asian countries and were selected on the basis of their outstanding contribution to the 2013 CAYN seminar, which was held for the fifth year in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and brought together some 60 students from Central Asia and other regions.

During the visit the student attended a session of the OSCE Permanent Council in the Hofburg and met representatives of various units of the OSCE Secretariat. They learned about the OSCE priorities for 2014 from the Swiss Chairmanship and discussed the ways to address security challenges with members of the Russian Delegation and United States Mission to the OSCE.

They also visited the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna for a discussion the region’s challenges and opportunities.

The Central Asian Youth Network was launched in 2004 in Uzbekistan to enhance promising students' knowledge and understanding of contemporary security threats and the OSCE's role in responding to them. The group promotes networking between students from the region.

The Centre in Astana organized the trip with financial and logistical support from other OSCE field operations in Central Asia and the Conflict Prevention Centre.