Young people from Central Asia, Afghanistan and Mongolia build knowledge on security sector governance and reform, safety of journalists at OSCE-DCAF summer school

Students and young journalists from Central Asia took a deep dive into youth, security, and the role of media freedom at a summer school course organized by the OSCE in co-operation with the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) from 8 to 13 June in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan.

“Over the years, this co-operation has brought together inquiring minds from across Central Asia, Mongolia, and Afghanistan to explore the vital link between good governance and sustainable peace,” said Jan Braathu, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, during his opening remarks. “I am especially pleased that, this year, we will be focusing on the safety of journalists, including the specific threats faced by female journalists, as well as the complex and systemic challenge posed by disinformation — issues that profoundly affect our security and our democracies. These concerns lie at the heart of the work of my Office.”

The 22 young participants from Afghanistan, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan learned about a holistic approach to human security, the OSCE’s youth and security agenda, and how to use best practices and tools for good governance in the security sector within the Central Asian context. They also discussed the importance of safety journalists and promoting media freedom.

Through interactive sessions, they had an opportunity to brainstorm about real-life scenarios and work together in groups to further develop their skills in strategic planning and analytical and critical thinking.

“Equipping youth with security sector governance and reform skills means equipping tomorrow’s leaders to make security humane, accountable and inclusive. In regions where civic space can shrink overnight, informed youth become a safeguard for transparency and human rights,” said Uulzhan Bekturova, one of the participants in the course.

The OSCE-DCAF Summer School ‘Linking security sector governance and reform, human security and the safety of journalists’ is organized by DCAF and the OSCE’s Conflict Prevention Centre, the Office of the OSCE Secretary General, together with the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, and the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek.

This year marks the third edition of the School and features a new Memorandum of Understanding signed by the OSCE Academy and DCAF in February. The Memorandum will offer Master’s degree students from the OSCE Academy access to dedicated internship opportunities with DCAF at its headquarters in Geneva. These steps have helped to set the summer school as an ongoing tradition for OSCE Academy students and alumni and further strengthened the partnership between the OSCE and DCAF. 

The course was co-funded this year by three OSCE extra-budgetary projects as well as through in-kind contribution from DCAF. The OSCE extra-budgetary projects are: “Support, capacity-building and awareness-raising for Security Sector Governance and Reform within the OSCE: Phase III”; “Accelerating the implementation of the Youth and Security Agenda in the OSCE region”; and “Safety of Journalists Project”.