Central Asian Youth Network alumni learn about OSCE in Vienna

Six students representing the Central Asian Youth Network (CAYN) concluded on 7 November 2014 their three-day study visit to Vienna, Austria, to familiarize themselves with the work of OSCE and its institutions and the organization’s comprehensive approach to security. The trip was organized by the Centre in Astana with financial and logistical support from other OSCE field operations in Central Asia, the United States Mission to the OSCE and the Conflict Prevention Centre.

The students were selected on the basis of their outstanding contribution to this year’s CAYN seminar held in August, which marked the 10-year anniversary of the network. The jubilee event focused on various aspects of youth empowerment in politics, business, civil society, and in promotion of democracy and human rights. 70 university students and alumni from Central Asia, Afghanistan and Mongolia as well as parliamentarians, politicians, diplomats, academics and business representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Sweden, the United States, Uzbekistan and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations participated in it. The topic of “Youth and the OSCE: Creating a Culture of Participation” reflected the priority set by the Swiss Chairmanship for 2014. One of the discussions focused on the OSCE Youth Action Plan currently under development.

During the Vienna study visit, the alumni attended a session of the OSCE Permanent Council and met representatives of various units of the OSCE Secretariat, including the Conflict Prevention Centre, Communication and Media Relations Section, Representative on Freedom of the Media, Transnational Threats Department and the Office for the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings. They learned about the OSCE’s work and the ways it addresses security challenges and threats as well as about the Swiss Chairmanship’s priorities for 2014. They met with the US Mission to the OSCE and delegations from Kazakhstan, Russia and Switzerland. Students also visited the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue.

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