Call for Sessions and Papers
8th Annual ‘Life in Kyrgyzstan’ Conference
October 11-12, 2022
In the framework of the Kyrgyzstan-initiated United Nations General Assembly
resolution designating 2022 as the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development.
The Institute of Public Policy and Administration of the University of Central Asia (UCA), the Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops (IGZ), and ISDC – International Security and Development Center invite submission of proposals for sessions and individual research papers for the 8 th Annual ‘Life in Kyrgyzstan’ Conference, (LiK) to be held in Orion Hotel in Bishkek during October 11-12, 2022. The conference is supported by American University Central Asia (AUCA), Mercy Corps, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the World Bank.
The keynote speakers are Dr Katrina Kosec, from the International Food Policy Research Institute and Prof Alisher Aldashev, from the Kazakh-British Technical University. The annual Life in Kyrgyzstan (LiK) conference brings together national and international experts from government and the public sector, development agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia and research institutions to exchange knowledge and experiences on recent socio-economic developments in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia and to promote evidence-based policy making.
We invite the submission of proposals for entire sessions (comprising three to four papers) or for individual research papers studying various aspects of socio-economic development in Kyrgyzstan or Central Asia. We welcome empirical papers using panel micro data, especially panel data from the ‘Life in Kyrgyzstan Study’, which is openly accessible at http://idsc.iza.org/lik. We also encourage researchers to present other micro- and
macroeconomic studies with the relevant topics of research. We encourage doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers to apply to participate at the conference, using this opportunity to receive feedback from senior researchers and practitioners.
The topics of individual submissions or sessions may include but are not limited to:
• Living with Covid-19;
• Employment, entrepreneurship and informality;
• Migration and remittances;
• Poverty and inequality;
• Education and health outcomes;
• Nutrition and food security;
• Demography, population dynamics;
• Rural livelihoods and agricultural markets;
• Impacts of trade and integration reforms;
• Public services and decentralization;
• Social capital and social cohesion;
• Peace-building, trust and expectations;
• Social protection and social safety nets;
• Gender, children and intra-household decision making;
• Impacts of the war in Ukraine on Central Asia;
• Climate change and its impact;
• Sustainable development goals;
• Micro-level data, survey methodology and panel data collection;
• Methods of rigorous impact evaluation;
• Sustainable mountain development.
Please send your submission by 15 June 2022 to the email address likconference2022@gmail.com. For session proposals, please list a session title, a session chair (with name and affiliation), a session organizer (with name and affiliation) and the titles and all co-authors (with names and affiliations) for each paper and enclose a 200-word session summary. For submissions of individual papers, we prefer to receive and will give priority to full papers but will also consider submissions of 200-word abstracts. The submissions should be in English. Authors of accepted submissions will be notified by 15 July 2022.
The academic committee comprises of Prof. Kathryn Anderson (Vanderbilt University), Prof. Tilman Brück (IGZ/ISDC/NRI), Dr. Damir Esenaliev (IGZ/ISDC), Dr. Saida Ismailakhunova (World Bank), Dr. Baktybek Kainazarov (UNFPA), Dr. Roman Mogilevskii (UCA), Dr. Kanat Tilekeyev (UCA), and Prof. Nurgul Ukueva (AUCA).
We will hold the conference in a hybrid mode to allow both in-person and online participation. If public health conditions related to the Corona pandemic worsen by the time of the conference, the conference may take place in online mode only. The languages of the conference are English and Russian. Simultaneous translation will be provided. There is no conference fee. Registration for participation in the conference without presenting
a paper will close on 10 October 2022. For further information on the Life in Kyrgyzstan Study, please see www.lifeinkyrgyzstan.org or send a message to likconference2022@gmail.com.
This year, the conference will be preceded by the LiK Data Users workshop, to be hold a day before or day after the conference dates. We will make additional announcement on the workshop shortly.
Organising Institutions
University of Central Asia’s Institute of Public Policy and Administration was established in 2011 to strengthen public policy in Central Asia. It provides in-depth analysis on current and emerging policy issues facing the region, and improves the analytical capacity of governments and civil society to use evidence in decision-making processes through professional development. The Institute has produced a series of peer-reviewed research papers on social and economic issues, public administration and public policy relating to Central Asia and Afghanistan. For more information on IPPA, please visit: http://ucentralasia.org/ippa
IGZ – Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops carries out basic and applied research supporting the sustainable production of vegetable and ornamental plants and the rational use of natural resources. It contributes to understanding fundamentals of horticultural and plant science, sustainability in production and use of plants, healthy nutrition and wellbeing of the population. Its work is rated by acceptance and appreciation by professionals in practical horticulture and by the society, publications in high-ranking scientific journals and acquisition of competitive grants. For more information on IGZ, please visit: http://www.igzev.de/.
ISDC – International Security and Development Center is a non-profit academic institute based in Berlin, Germany. We conduct research to improve lives and livelihoods shaped by violent conflict, fragility and humanitarian emergencies, providing policy advice and building capacity on international security and socio-economic development. We are unique in the global research scene for being dedicated to work exclusively on the security-development nexus. For more information on ISDC, please visit: https://isdc.org/.
Partner Institutions
American University of Central Asia (AUCA) is a multi-disciplinary learning community in the American liberal arts tradition with the mission of developing enlightened and impassioned leaders for the transformation of Central Asia. AUCA is the first university in Central Asia to offer US accredited degrees in liberal arts programs through a partnership with Bard College in the United States. With a current enrolment of approximately 1,500 students from over 25 countries, AUCA offers students a quality education based on an American college model with a credit-hours system, a liberal arts curriculum, and a commitment to freedom of expression and inquiry. The University offers 14 undergraduate educational programs and 9 graduate programs. For more information on AUCA, please visit https://www.auca.kg/.
Mercy Corps is a global team of humanitarians, working together on the front lines of today’s biggest crises to create a future of possibility, where everyone can prosper. Our mission is to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. Mercy Corps has been working in Kyrgyzstan since 1994 providing humanitarian assistance to people, communities and institutions across the country. For more than a decade, Mercy Corps has served as the implementing partner of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition program. Since 2012, Mercy Corps has provided more than 2,500 metric tons of supplemental commodities (fortified flour, rice, peas, lentils and oil) to provide nutritious hot meals to over 150,000 children in kindergartens and primary schools across Kyrgyzstan. Two other key components of the program are social behaviour change and literacy promotion, both aimed at improving child health and learning outcomes. For more information on Mercy Corps, please visit https://www.mercycorps.org.
The World Bank is an international organization dedicated to providing financing, advice, and research to developing nations to aid their economic advancement. By giving loans, and offering advice and training in both the private and public sectors, the World Bank aims to eliminate poverty by helping people help themselves. Since the Kyrgyz Republic joined the World Bank in 1992, the Bank’s financial assistance has amounted to over US$2,024 million. The World Bank support has helped the country to maintain macroeconomic stability, invest in strategic infrastructure, and improve access to social services. For more information on the World Bank, please visit https://www.worldbank.org.
UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Its mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA presence in the Kyrgyz Republic dates back to 1992, and it has assisted the country by supporting the preparation of the first national census, by delivering reproductive health commodities, and by building national capacity in integrated SRH and youth-friendly health services, in the development of policies in youth and gender equality areas, and on data collection and analysis. For more information on UNFPA, please visit https://www.unfpa.org.
