Youth Gain First-Hand Insight on Unrest in Kyrgyzstan through GCE's Educational Network

During the unrest Kyrgyzstan experienced in early April, Kyrgyzstan students used the Global Connections and Exchange (GCE) program’s Educational Network (Ning site) to communicate about events as they unfolded.

IREX works to provide information and communication technology (ICT) training to students and teachers in Kyrgyzstan and to improve cross-border connections with the US through GCE.

As part of the curriculum, program participants use the Ning site to conduct interactive and educational online projects. However, as political and social unrest unfolded in Kyrgyzstan, US students and teachers leveraged Ning to express concern about the safety of their counterparts and their families.  Roosevelt High School student Ellen Mayo asked of students at their partner school in Naryn, Kyrgyzstan, “Could (you) enlighten me about some of the issues and your personal experiences?” As the Kyrgyzstan students responded or made posts independently, US students read their firsthand accounts.

Students from Kyrgyzstan expressed their worry for family members in different regions and cities, and many informed their US friends that schools were closed for several days. Anka Zhyrgalbekova of Naryn posted an appeal for peace on her Ning blog:

 “Can we solve all problems or questions peacefully, or do we need a revolution, demonstrations, and looting to tear down all the buildings...I believe that the destruction of all those buildings, stores, and resources were not proper actions...If we do not solve all problems by peaceful means then our country will itself disappear. Dear citizens of Kyrgyzstan, I wish you all good in the world and a happy life!”

Thanks to the program’s social networking platform, US students could learn what living through political turmoil was like as experienced by their partners in Kyrgyzstan, and how youth could respond to events. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, student Cody Bowman, whose father had been deployed to Iraq, asked, “I was just wondering if you would share information on what it is like to be living inside the violence.” As students from the US expressed hope for their friends’ safety, Kyrgyzstan’s students continued to blog and post their own accounts and appeals for peace. The Ning platform continued to remain open, fostering discussion between young people across the world. Although students initially came together on Ning to share current events, many discussed events with a direct effect on their lives.