On 15 February 2025, the OSCE Academy, with the support of the Global Campus of Human Rights and the Right Livelihood Foundation, conducted a workshop on “Children’s Rights.” A total of 25 high school students participated in the event, which was opened by Prof. Anja Mihr, Academic Director of the Master’s Programme in Liberal Arts and Sciences in Human Rights and Sustainability (MAHRS). Prof. Mihr informed participants about the Global Campus of Human Rights Network and the Right Livelihood Foundation, highlighting their mission and activities. She has underlined that the Children’s Rights direction is an essential part of all eight Global Campus’s hubs that are located in different parts of the world. One of the main goals of the workshop was to raise awareness about the children’s rights in general as well as specifically in Kyrgyzstan with a special focus on violence and cyber-bullying.
The event began with an award ceremony for the three nominees of the #ReelsMyRights Video Contest, which had been announced among school students. The contest participants received prizes in the categories of “Most Motivating Video,” “Most Creative Video,” and “Most Touching Video.” The nominated videos were showcased to the participants. After the demonstration, Karlygach Nurmanbetova, Children’s Rights Specialist introduced the students to the key aspects of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Next, Ms. Meerim Osmonalieva, Trainer and the Director of the Oasis Foundation presented on “Children’s Rights in Kyrgyzstan,” focusing on child abuse protection. She shared research data collected from local schools and discussed the challenges students face within the school environment.
Furthermore, Kristina Ryabova, a student in the MAHRS programme, gave a presentation titled “What is Bullying, Cyberbullying, and How to Avoid It?” She spoke about cyber hygiene, prevention and protection strategies.
The event continued with an interactive activity called the Problem Tree, where students were divided into groups to analyze various cases of children’s rights abuses. They explored the root causes of these problems and proposed possible solutions. This exercise aimed to summarize the knowledge gained during the workshop. It was noted that children will have an opportunity to participate in future Children’s Rights events as well as to become members of so-called Child Leadership Teams if they are under 18 years old.
Ms. Nurmanbetova and Ms. Osmonalieva closed the workshop by awarding students with certificates for their participation.
This event will give a start to series of others Children’s Rights Events that are yet to come.
The workshop was financially supported by Right Livelihood Foundation.
