Mehri Karyagdyyeva's bio
Mehri works on a variety of IREX programs that integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into educational, civil society development and institutional reform programs in Eurasia. These include Global Connections and Exchange [22], the Internet Access and Training Program (IATP) [23], Tech Age Girls [24], Global Libraries [25], Promoting Information Communication Technology in Turkmenistan [26] as well as Tech Age Teens [27].
Born and raised in Turkmenistan, Mehri combines her first-hand knowledge of Central Asia with technical expertise to implement programs in fast-changing country environments. Mehri is an expert in the use of ICT and new media for individual and organizational capacity-building and has taken a leading role in IREX's efforts to apply global ICT in program methodology. Most notably, she introduced the usage of mobile phone for pilot programs in Ukraine and Romania. Mehri is fluent in Turkmen, Russian, and English and is a bilingual trainer on community project development as well as ICT tools.
Mehri has been with IREX since 2005. She is an alumna of the Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX [28]) and spent her senior year at Northwest High School in Omaha, Nebraska.
Mehri has been dancing national Turkmen dances since she was 6 years old. She danced in her college dance troupe as well as her hometown dance troupe competing in various national competitions across Turkmenistan.