DYD is a program of the United States Embassy in Kyrgyzstan. GCE is a program of the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

>> Global Connections & Exchange

Digital Youth Dialogue <<

MAY-JUNE 2011

Student from Kyrgyzstan

Invited to International

Leadership Summit in

Washington, DC

88 Tech Age Girls

Semifinalists Conduct IT

Training for 450 Individuals

Internet Enabling Students to

Enhance English Language

Learning with Self-Paced

Tools

Three Tech Age Girls Become

Finalists of Future Leaders

Exchange Program

DYD Bokonbaev School Estab-

lished Online Dialogue with

Partner Schools via Skype

TAG Alumna Takes Language

Courses at the University of

Notre Dame in Indiana

Local Training Enables Educa-

tors at GCE school to Improve

Their English-teaching Skills

DYD Journalism Club Update:

In January, the 22 talented and

promising students were chosen to

participate in Digital Youth Dialogue’s (DYD)

Journalism, Technology, and Leadership Win-

ter Camp, where they developed their techni-

cal and professional skills through sessions on

IT, journalism, conflict mitigation, and leader-

ship skills. Read on for details of some of the

young journalists’ achievements following the

camp at the following schools and libraries:

• Aitmatov School, Osh

• Adyshev School, Alay

• School No. 14, Jalal-Abad

• Alay Public Library

• Kyzyl-Kiya Library

www.irex.org IN THIS ISSUE:

This summer, Aijarkyn Aisakhunova will have the

chance to visit the United States for six days

thanks to skills she developed as a participant in

the Tech Age Girls project.

As one of three finalists selected from Kyr-

gyzstan’s 67 applicants, Aisakhunova will be tak-

ing part in the iLive2Lead International Leadership

Summit, held in Washington, DC on July 17-23.

IL2L provides intensive high-level leadership train-

ing to young women from around the globe, im-

mersing its summit participants in a curriculum

studying leadership styles, networking skills, pro-

ject management, and the use of media and the

web to organize social change. In addition, sum-

mit attendees will take part in meetings with suc-

cessful female leaders from the private, public,

and non-profit sectors, and will collaborate in

project planning workshops, where the partici-

pants will further hone their skills to implement

change in their home communities.

Aisakhunova learned about IL2L opportunity from

the TAG alumni listserv and her participation in it

is closely linked to her success in TAG: “I am truly

thankful for the TAG project,” she shared,

“because thanks to this project I gained the skills

that are helping me now to achieve my goals.

TAG will always be a part of my life.”

After the summit, Aisakhunova plans to pass her

new skills to others in her community by training

students and young girls on leadership, goal set-

ting and community needs assessment, at the lo-

cal “Leadership” youth volunteer organization.

In 22 Schools and three libraries across Kyr-

gyzstan, 88 Tech Age Girls semifinalists conducted

ICT training sessions for 450 members of their

communities including parents, friends, neighbors

and classmates. Participants developed new un-

derstanding and skills in using video calling, and

email services, conducting internet searches, and

working with audio, video, and photo applica-

tions.

Gulayum Aimanova, a resident of Naryn, was very

grateful for the training she received from TAG

semifinalist Nazgul Abdykerimova. She shared, “I

really appreciate that these girls shared the skills

they gained during their project. I never thought

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Student from Kyrgyzstan Invited to International Leadership Summit in Washington, DC

Aijarkyn Aisakhunova sharing her

community project ideas at the TAG

conference

88 Tech Age Girls Semifinalists Conduct IT Training for 450 Individuals

that internet could be so useful. I always talk to

my son abroad over the phone and it costs so

much money. Now I learned about Skype, and by

using it, I can even see my son…! Thanks to TAG

for giving the girls such a great opportunity to

learn new technology.”

As the school year winds down, 35 students at the

Bokonbaev Boarding School in Bazar-Korgon have

been using the internet provided by the Global

Connections and Exchange program at their school

to enhance their education, making use of self-

paced language-learning tools online.

The students have been using Livemocha and the

American English File websites to practice their

English skills; both sites have been useful tools in

language study thanks to their internet connec-

tivity. Livemocha, with 9 million members in its

community, pairs interactive language lessons

with a social networking functionality, connecting

users to native speakers of the language being

studied. For most students in Kyrgyzstan, GCE’s

online projects and internet connectivity has

given them their first opportunity to communicate

with fluent English speakers, taking language

learning out of the textbook and into the real

world of communication and interaction. Using

the American English File, the students are ac-

cessing English learning resources, and then put-

ting them to use on Livemocha in writing, reading

and speaking exercises, chats with native speak-

ers, and discussions of culture in English-speaking

countries like the United States.

Ninth-grader Ainagul Kaldarbekova is grateful for

her ability to use internet at school in order to

guide her own learning: “Since I’ve been using

Livemocha, my English has developed a lot. My

favorite activity on the site is chatting with Eng-

lish speakers… I learn new English words from

them and find out about [where they live]. I can

also study Geography through the site. There are

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Ninth-grader Mavluda Muratjan kyzy of Bokonbaev

School uses her school’s internet connection to

study German on language learning community

site Livemocha.com Internet Enabling Students to Enhance English Language Learning with Self-Paced Tools

TAG semifinalist Nazgul Abdykerimova

teaches computing basics to Gulayum

Aimanova in Naryn

many great pictures and a lot of information

about the countries and their cultures there. Be-

sides, I develop my computer skills, and can type

a little bit faster now.”

Teachers have been very supportive of online

learning tools to maximize their students’

achievement: Speaking about the American Eng-

lish File, Aigul Dzhumagulova, an English teacher

at Bokonbaev, noted that language websites “are

a really unique opportunity for students to de-

velop their English. When they visit the site they

do not feel like they are studying, it is just fun

for them. I usually make students practice exer-

cises on [American English File] after they have a

new grammar point or vocabulary. The students

who come in for extra English use the exercises

on the site frequently. Consequently, they have

achieved good results in English.”

Tech Age Girls 2010 alumni Saikal Murat kyzy from

Karakol and Yuliya Prokofyeva from Kyzyl-Kiya,

and TAG 2011 semifinalist Aizahan Tazabekova

from Naryn recently were announced as finalists

of the US Department of State funded Future

Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program.

They are now preparing for their trips to the

United States, as they await news of their desti-

nations and travel dates. The skills they devel-

oped in the TAG project, they agree, had a great

impact on their ability to succeed in applying for

the exchange program: “Thanks to TAG, I gained

leadership skills, IT skills and developed my Eng-

lish language. All these skills helped me become a

finalist for the FLEX program.”

Administered by American Councils for Interna-

tional Education, FLEX gives secondary students

the chance to live with a host family and attend a

U.S. high school for a year. During their time in

the United States, the girls plan to keep in touch

with their peers in Kyrgyzstan via GCE’s educa-

tional portal and educational network, including

video conferences while abroad.

On May 12, thirty-eight students from Bokonbaev

school in Toktogul and School No. 2 in Talas par-

ticipated in a constructive discussion on democ-

racy, and formed new friendships with their fel-

low citizens via Skype.

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www.irex.org

Three Tech Age Girls Become Finalists of Future Leaders Exchange Program

Saikal Murat kyzy conducting TAG outreach.

Murat kyzy is one of three Tech Age Girls

selected this year to participate in the Future

Leaders Exchange program.

DYD Bokonbaev School Established Online Dialogue with Partner Schools via Skype

The call, held entirely in English, was a welcome

challenge for the participants – they began prepa-

ration two weeks ahead of time, learning new

words, reading material on democracy, and prac-

ticing using the Skype software to make the con-

nection.

Rather than tackle democratic development in the

country as a whole, students approached the topic

in a way more applicable to their daily lives: stu-

dent government. Every school in Kyrgyzstan has a

student president and parliament (the equivalent

of a school’s student council in the United

States), an institution aimed at teaching students

the basic elements of governance. During the call,

the discussion focused on students’ understanding

of democracy as it relates to student government,

how to make student elections more transparent,

and include democratic principles in these bodies.

Following the call, participant Jibek Akmatova, a

10th grader at School No. 2 in Talas, shared

“citizens in democracies need to know their

rights but also with it they need to know their

responsibilities.… This is especially important in

Kyrgyzstan, where young people will be responsi-

ble and can take part with their knowledge and

experiences in decision making process. And of

course rule of law should work in society too.”

Thanks to the GCE and DYD programs, schools

from the north and south of Kyrgyzstan were able

to communicate virtually and have a discussion

about very relevant issues, while becoming friends

with each other in the process. At the end of the

call, the students shared their e-mail addresses

and Facebook accounts, hoping to continue their

correspondence.

Tech Age Girls 2010 alumna Janara Asizova got

the opportunity to visit US for two months, thanks

to skills gained during her participation in the pro-

ject. Asizova was selected as one of 120 students

from around the world to participate in the Un-

dergraduate Intensive English Language Study Pro-

gram (UIELSP) of the Office of Academic Exchange

Programs in the Bureau of Educational and Cul-

tural Affairs (ECA).

The eight-week program provides English language

practice, leadership skills building, and civic edu-

cation and engagement. While the primary focus

is intensive English language coursework, pro-

grams also include components on leadership, and

participants will be involved in volunteerism and

community service projects that focus on relevant

issues such as public health, wellness, environ-

mental conservation, and sustainability.

Asizova shares, “All of my achievements are

thanks to TAG project; skills that I have gained

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Students in Talas and Toktogul take part in

a Skype discussion on democracy

TAG Alumna Takes Language Courses at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana

during TAG helped me to realize my goals. One

of my biggest achievements is the participation in

UIELSP, thanks to the leadership skills provided at

the TAG conference.”

Asizova is studying at the Center for the Study of

Languages and Cultures of the University of Notre

Dame in Indiana. While in the United States, she

continues to share her experience with the other

Tech Age Girls via Facebook and Skype, in addi-

tion to holding videoconferences with TAG final-

ists to answer their questions about life in the

United States.

In January, the 22 talented and promising stu-

dents were chosen to participate in Digital Youth

Dialogue’s (DYD) Journalism, Technology, and

Leadership Winter Camp, where they developed

their technical and professional skills through ses-

sions on IT, journalism, conflict mitigation, and

leadership skills.

The rigorous training program built new skills in

the students with a number of important tools for

effective modern journalism, including layout,

photo and multimedia editing, interview tech-

niques, digital storytelling, and publishing. Fol-

lowing the camp, the participants founded new

journalism clubs at 11 schools and expanded the

activities of one existing club. Details of some of

the young journalists’ achievements are high-

lighted below:

At Aitmatov School in

Osh, DYD participants

Barchinoy Ishonhonova

and Muhaye Gapirova re-

turned to their existing

journalism club and

vastly expanded its ca-

pacities; their newspa-

per, Tengdos, now publishes in Kyrgyz, Russian,

Uzbek and English cross-publishing in four lan-

guages takes a significantly bigger staff, and the

students met that need by generating new inter-

est in the club with new members, training 10 re-

cruits in the skills they learned at the Winter

Camp themselves. In April, Tengdos’s editors

shared their experiences on Kyrgyzstan’s Educa-

tional Portal.

Aizada Tynchybek kyzy

and Nurdariya Jooshbaeva

from Adyshev School in

Alay, studied videomak-

ing and digital storytel-

ling, and produced their

own videos while attend-

ing the Winter Camp. Upon their return, they

founded the school’s new journalism club and

launched Knowledge, Adyshev’s newspaper. The

paper features regular articles about the school,

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Asizova, in 2010, at her internship as a

TAG finalist. Now an alumna, she recently

was selected to visit the United States on a

leadership program.

DYD Journalism Club Update

as well as poems written by students.

Adilet Azimkanov and

Jamilya Tashtanova of

School No. 14 in Jalal-

Abad started a ten-

student Journalism club

upon their return to Jalal-

Abad and began work on

the school newspaper,

titled Teenager. The newspaper covers all aspects

of student and youth life in the community, and

features articles about Nooruz, the Central Asian

New Year, and International Women’s Day, in ad-

dition to publishing useful resources for students.

They are currently working on their second edi-

tion and continue to train new members of the

club.

Aisuluu Abdubaly kyzy and

Minura Begishbek kyzy re-

turned to their commu-

nity’s Alay Library to form

a group of 10 local stu-

dents and created a news-

paper called School Mes-

senger, which has informa-

tion on Alay’s local Otunchiyev School. In the pa-

per, the club reports on school contests, upcom-

ing holidays, important information regarding stu-

dent examinations, and even launched a “Teacher

of the Year” competition.

Bahrom Tursunov and

Baimurza Abdubaitov, rep-

resenting youth patrons of

the Kyzyl-Kiya Library,

used the IT and journalism

skills they gained to cre-

ate Karbyshev School’s

Our Newspaper. Tursunov

has been engaging in additional video journalism

projects, reporting on the use of internet at

school, Karbyshev School’s achievements at a lo-

cal cultural festival, student life, and daily life in

Kyzyl-Kiya in a several pieces, all available at Kyr-

gyzstan’s Educational Network.

Though currently taking a break from their new

lives as young journalists while on summer vaca-

tion, the journalism clubs impacted by DYD’s Win-

ter Camp will begin again in the fall, getting right

back to work at informing their peers on the news

that’s important to them, and will be doing so

thanks to the skills they worked hard to develop.

Digital Youth Dialogue is a Program of the United

States Embassy in Kyrgyzstan.

www.irex.org

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