The search for unity in diversity – experience of Kurama district

The Kurama village district of the Chui oblast is very multiethnic – more than 20 ethnicities live there, as well as internal migrants. The International Alert study shows that there are many conflicts on ethnic grounds in Kurama, as well as between the indigenous population and internal migrants. Conflicts also often occur due to the lack of irrigation water - the irrigation system is clogged, and over time there has been a large depreciation of the lot system, so irrigation water does not fully reach the land plots of farms. The main factors of social tension are the high level of unemployment, the low level of youth participation in the life of the local community, the lack of awareness of the residents about the possibilities of participation in solving issues of local importance.

The Community Development Alliance Public Association, with the support of the Living in Peace project decided to contribute to reducing social tension and strengthen the capacity of local authorities to resolve conflict situations through the Promoting Peace initiative in the local community.

Together with local self-government bodies, seminars on civic participation in local self-government, conflict sensitivity and conflict analysis, as well as the concept of interethnic relations were held for active youth. Based on the results of the training, initiative groups were formed that took part in the competition of local initiatives.

Three local initiative groups received a small amount of funding:

• Young peacebuilders
  The Dilgir initiative group in Kaptal-Aryk village consists of teachers and school students. Their project - Bugunku araket, ertenki kelechek - included teaching students of critical thinking and conflict sensitivity, as well as conducting intellectual competitions. "Our students were so fired up with the idea that we decided to open a peacebuilding club for conflict prevention at the school in order to regularly conduct training, educational projects and competitions. Our Director has already signed the regulations on the club, which means that we will start working from the new academic year," says the Head of the Dilgir group - Nasip Taalaibekova.
• The first intercultural Festival
  The Yntymak initiative group received funding for a project on social cohesion in the village of Kaptal-Aryk. With the help of village administration body, the initiative group organized a festival of cultures and a talent contest. According to the organizers, such an intercultural event with the representation of all ethnic groups who live in the village is being held for the first time! "The event turned out to be very bright – it is useful for people to learn more about the culture and traditions of their fellow villagers. The concert with the participation of representatives of different ethnicities turned out to be so successful that the village administration body invited the participants to show their talents and celebrate the Independence Day of Kyrgyzstan," shared Anara Musaeva, Head of the Promoting Peace in the local community project.
  The festival of cultures presents ethnic dances and songs in Azerbaijani, Tajik, Russian, Kyrgyz, Tatar languages, which were performed by both indigenous residents and recent settlers and residents of surrounding villages.
  "In our time of highly technologies, people have become very little to communicate, personal communication between neighbors, fellow villagers is reduced to zero, people are gain distance between each other. Our festival brought people together, demonstrated that every culture is unique and beautiful," said contestant Nezhdana Zaretskaya-Shcherbina.
• Sport brings us closer
  Within the framework of the World Peace initiative, sports tournaments in football and volleyball were held among young boys and girls. The main goal of the organizers is to make inclusive teams of representatives of different ethnicities, as well as Kyrgyzstanis who have recently moved to Kurama.

"More than 20 ethnicities live in our district: Azerbaijanis, Uzbeks, Chechens, Ukrainians, Germans, Russians, Kazakhs, Tajiks and internal migrants, and sometimes there are different conflict situations. As the survey earlier showed, there are "interethnic conflicts, conflicts between neighbors", there is also a lack of recreation activities. Our initiative group plans to regularly hold sports tournaments in volleyball and football among young people 18 to 28 years old with the participation of boys and girls of different ethnicities. We believe that participation in sports tournaments, teamwork, the sports and competitive mood developing in the team will contribute to unity, friendship, reduction of conflict potential among young people, understanding and establishing good and trusting relationships between young people," said the Head of the initiative group - Azamat Kambarov.

Nikolai Eremenko, participant of the football tournament: "Sports events are good for young people, first of all, to unite, become friendly. And so that when young people meet each other on the street, everything ends with handshakes, not a fight."

Sports games are held every weekend after obtaining sports equipment from the project – the local authorities went to a meeting and provided a football field for this. The initiative group also plans to hold mixed tournaments between men and women.

The implemented initiatives took place in close cooperation with local self-government bodies and the community. Thanks to the project, local governments have created a platform for initiating useful initiatives coming from the residents themselves, thereby increasing self-confidence. According to the results, at the beginning of the project, only 2 deputies of the local council participated in consultations and training, but in the course of the project, having seen its benefits and an organized platform for public activities, 8 local deputies already joined the implementation of initiatives.

Moreover, local governments have provided financial support in the implementation of local initiatives, which ensures sustainability and allows initiative groups to make further plans even after the completion of the project.

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This work was done by the Community Development Alliance Public Association within the framework of the Promoting Peace in the local community initiative with the support of the  project.

International Alert, together with the Policy Development Institute and the National Mediation Center, is implementing the  project “Living in Peace” with the support of the European Union.