This November two youth forums will highlight the ways the USAID Jasa.kg program, which incorporates life skills training through the Passport to Success® (PTS) curriculum, has enriched the lives of Kyrgyz youth. The events will bring together representatives from the Kyrgyz Republic Ministry of Education and Science and local partner organizations, as well as life skills trainers and more than 400 youth from across the country.

Jasa.kg is an initiative of the International Youth Foundation (IYF) with funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID). PTS, a key component of the program, helps youth build confidence, develop resiliency, and set goals, among other life skills. In the Kyrgyz Republic, IYF’s local program partner Childhood Institute has been responsible for providing PTS training and is organizing these youth forums, along with other Jasa.kg partners Interbilim, Oasis, and Our Voice.

At the forums, to be held November 8 in Bishkek (American University of Central Asia, 205, Abdumomunova str., 9:00 – 17:00) and November 15 in Osh (Osh Humanitarian-Pedagogical Institute of M.Myrsabekov,73 Isanova str., 9:00 – 17:00), PTS graduates and guests will present results from the program, including their success stories. In conjunction, participating youth also will have the opportunity to participate in a job fair and attend sessions on leadership, time management, team building, fundraising, volunteering, and social networking. The forums will close with a celebratory dance show by Jasa.kg participants.

Between 2012 and 2014 Childhood Institute trained 1,334 youth from 26 orphanages in the Kyrgyz Republic in PTS. As part of the Jasa.kg program, which emphasizes youth livelihoods and civic engagement, these graduates implemented 63 social projects supporting community development.

To confirm media participation at either event, please contact Ainura Japarova, Communications and Outreach Specialist, at +996 771 406 119 or a.japarova@iyfnet.org

The Jasa.kg program of the International Youth Foundation catalyzes a generation of young people to actively engage in building a stable, prosperous and democratic Kyrgyzstan through a package of services designed to support young people. The program has three primary objectives: inspiring active citizenship among Kyrgyzstan’s youth, preparing youth for the job market, and creating a culture of positive youth development.