Central Asian Youth Network participants travel to Vienna to learn about OSCE

Five Central Asian university students completed a two-day visit to Vienna on 8 November 2012 during which they learned about the OSCE and its activities.

The students were selected for the familiarization tour on the basis of their outstanding contribution to this year’s Central Asian Youth Network seminar, which was held for the fourth year in a row in Almaty, Kazakhstan and involved nearly 50 students from across the region.

At the OSCE Secretariat the students attended briefings, observed a session of the OSCE's Permanent Council, and participated in discussions with OSCE diplomats on security issues.

The Central Asian Youth Network was launched in 2004 in Uzbekistan to deepen student leaders' knowledge and understanding of contemporary security threats and challenges, as well as the OSCE's role in addressing them. CAYN also allows students to network with their peers in the region and beyond via a social media platform.

The OSCE Centre in Astana organized the trip with financial and logistical support from other OSCE field operations in Central Asia.