"Nobody has ever asked about young people's opinions"

Young people's perspectives on identity, exclusion and the prospects for a peaceful future in Central Asia

This report investigates the values, interests and perspectives of the post-Soviet generation which has emerged from an impoverished education system and is now coming of age into ailing economies offering bleak job opportunities. Excluded from decision-making and with a skewed understanding of democracy, young people are not learning the skills needed in order to participate in inclusive and peaceful societies.

The findings and recommendations in this report are drawn from research conducted among young people by young Central Asian researchers working in cooperation with local civil societyorganisations in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan from June to September 2011. Some research was also conducted in neighbouring Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and in Afghanistan.

Download the report in English or in Russian. Or click here to read the policy brief.

“With a few exceptions, young people’s attitudes towards those with different communal identities to their own were overwhelmingly negative. The most common attitudes were suspicion, prejudice and apprehension.”

"Nobody has ever asked about young people's opinions": Young people's perspectives on identify, exclusion and the prospects for a peaceful future in Central Asia