OSCE Centre supports economic fair, value of ethnic diversity in southern Kyrgyzstan

OSH, Kyrgyzstan, 5 June 2009 - A one-day fair to provide information on economic opportunities and celebrate ethnic diversity, organized by the regional branch of the Kyrgyz Republic's Committee on Employment and Migration and Public Foundation DIA and supported by the OSCE Centre's Field Office in Osh, was held in the town of Kara-Kulja today.

The fair, held in the main square of Kara-Kulja, aimed to provide the population with information on business and economic opportunities and employment, as well as on the effects of migration, both internal and external. In partnership with the People's Assembly of Kyrgyzstan, the fair also provided an opportunity to highlight the cultural and ethnic diversity in destination areas for potential migrants from the Kara-Kulja district.

"Today's fair celebrated the richness of a diverse society, while also being a forum in which local businesses and migration issues were highlighted, in this way targeting some of the key challenges facing southern Kyrgyzstan," said Hugo Karlsson, the Head of the OSCE Field Office in Osh.

"This information campaign is important because it allows the people of Kara-Kulja to get the necessary information about internal and external migration, employment opportunities and the potential dangers of trafficking in human beings," said Ibrahimov Kubanychbek, the Head of the Committee on Migration and Employment in Kara-Kulja district.

Some 80 schoolchildren performed traditional dances and songs. Contests for the participants were also held. The event was part of an OSCE Centre initiative on promoting inter-ethnic tolerance and increasing economic sustainability, especially in remote, mono-ethnic regions of Kyrgyzstan with a high level of outmigration, such as Kara Kulja.