SIPRI co-hosted the third annual Life in Kyrgyzstan (LiK) Conference in Bishkek on 12–13 October 2017. During the two-days, the conference was attended by more than 110 participants, representing government agencies, academia, civil society, international organizations, independent researchers and the private sector.
The sessions were devoted to important topics for Kyrgyzstan and the region of Central Asia, such as social cohesion, poverty reduction, inequality, migration, agriculture, education, employment, public health, well-being, technology, and climate change.
The recent findings of SIPRI’s on-going project on Social Cohesion through Community-Driven Development (CDD) in Kyrgyzstan were presented during the LiK conference. SIPRI and other project partners presented the national social cohesion index based on the LiK 2016 survey data, which serves as a first attempt to calculate a national index in the region and catalyze discussions about the topic of social cohesion and development.
Of the 36 papers presented and discussed at the conference, 15 were based on data from the Life in Kyrgyzstan Study, demonstrating increased relevance for applied micro-level research and potential impact on country policymaking.
The conference was organized in collaboration with the Institute of Public Policy and Administration of the University of Central Asia (UCA); the Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops (IGZ); the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); the International Security and Development Center (ISDC); and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Support materials from the conference (handouts, papers and slideshows) are available at the LiK Study’s website: www.lifeinkyrgyzstan.org.