The crisis with the pandemic of COVID – 19 has clearly reminded us all how strongly we are inevitably interrelated despite race, nation, ethnicity, origin, and residence. Some of our actions influencing directly the prosperity of society. Personally, I believe that sustainable development can be achieved only thanks to the strong will of citizens to participate in the social life of their communities, as well as cooperating in reaching peace, justice and pursuing strong institutions.
I believe that participation in the social life of the country where you live is an important aspect of personal development. I used to live in a country whose independence counts only for 30 years, thus it needed to establish new institutions from scratch and find its way of development. I was born and grown up in Kyrgyzstan. It is a country in the heart of Central Asia, which gained its independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since its independence, it has witnessed three revolutions. I was a university student at that time, and these historical events influenced a lot my understanding of civic education and civic engagement. Firstly, I got convinced that education plays a key role in establishing and fostering a civic society. It broadens the possibilities of women and other minority groups and strengthens their role in politics. Secondly, I concluded that the government is a structure that is directly related to me, the efficiency of it directly depends on our active participation in its social life. These are simple acts like, scrutinizing and understanding the programs of future candidates for parliament or presidency, and only after giving a vote for the preferred candidate. Additionally, it is crucial the role of citizens in creating a dialog with institutions by expressing needs and problems and presenting the reality of the community.
During University, I became a volunteer of a local NGO International Center Interbilim, which protects and promotes civic rights through advocacy and lobbying. I used to hold trainings on human rights and civic engagements. This opportunity has opened another door for my personal development. I got to know about the project “School of Leadership”, implemented by this Center. The aim of the program was the formation and strengthening the potential of leaders of a new generation through trainings as a theoretical part and implementation of social projects as a practical part. Successful application and interview were the main steps to join the school. There I met interesting people: members of political parties, workers of NGOs, and state institutions. As a result of this school I have implemented my mini-project “Successful me, successful country”, it took place in the village where I was born and grown-up. The main idea was to enhance the school children's potential through discussions about the importance of education and self-education. As a result, the information about free recourses was shared, for example, a resource center for improving the knowledge of English, a special website for young people for finding opportunities. And most importantly, I have highlighted the importance of volunteering, and have shared the theory of preparing and implementing social projects.
After University graduation I worked as a project manager at International Center Interbilim, and my previous volunteering experience assisted a lot in the working process. I had a chance to be a part of the international team and have implemented projects on Youth and Democracy, funded by the European Commission, as well as Woman Leadership and NGO Capacity Building, funded by the US Department of State. This experience convinced me that the concepts of democracy, freedom, and justice cannot be taken for granted. These values should always be protected by raising our consciousness, sharing our experiences with others concerning active civic engagement for better and strong institutions now and in the future.
I know that my volunteering activity is not enough to fight against injustice around the world, I would say it is just the drop in the ocean, despite I believe that each person on earth can become a part of changes and together we can create a better world, because what is the ocean, if not the millions of these drops. Reaching sustainable development is the responsibility of each of us, thus our gender issues awareness, respect of other cultures, environmental responsibility are the key to start changes.