On 19 June 2023, the OSCE's Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), in co-operation with the OSCE Academy in Bishkek and the Programme Office in Bishkek, launched a comprehensive awareness raising campaign throughout Kyrgyzstan on preventing youth involvement in organized crime, corruption and drug use.
With the motto and hashtag #KolubuzdanKelet (Kyrgyz for: "We can do it!"), the campaign aims to raise awareness among young people in Kyrgyzstan about the importance of the rule of law and integrity, as well as strengthening youth resilience to being involved in criminal and corrupt activities.
The campaign involves some of Kyrgyzstan's leading influencers, bloggers, artists, youth activists, and athletes. By showcasing individuals who have achieved success through lawful, ethical, and constructive means, the campaign seeks to not only inspire young people but also to provide tangible examples of the positive paths they can follow.
The campaign aims to reach over 1 million young people in Kyrgyzstan over two months of implementation through Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, as well as through national TV channels in co-operation with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth Policy of Kyrgyzstan. The campaign videos will also be featured by the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek.
The campaign has been developed and launched within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on youth crime prevention signed between the OSCE and the Government of Kyrgyzstan in April 2022. The development of the campaign was facilitated by multi-stakeholder working groups and consultations established in the framework of the MoU, which consisted of relevant state authorities and civil society in Kyrgyzstan.
The campaign is being implemented under the OSCE-wide multi-year extra-budgetary project, Enhancing youth crime and drug use prevention through education on legality and awareness campaigns addressing threats of organized crime and corruption, funded by Germany. Other donors supporting this project are Andorra, Italy and Poland.
