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FLEX-Ability Conference in Almaty, Kazakhstan: FLEX Alumni Develop Community Initiatives

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After four successful years in the South Caucasus, the FLEX-Ability Conference launched in Almaty, Kazakhstan to offer FLEX alumni in Central Asia intensive training to develop community service projects and effectively share their projects with their communities

After four successful years in the South Caucasus, the FLEX-Ability Conference launched in Almaty, Kazakhstan to offer FLEX alumni in Central Asia intensive training to develop community service projects and effectively share their projects with their communities

"It was a great FLEX-Ability Conference with awesome people! I met a lot of enthusiastic alumni who have splendid ideas about ways to improve their communities, societies, and countries. I was really amazed by everyone I met," said Shirin Bakirdinova '14 (Talas, Kyrgyzstan/Elkton, Minnesota).

Public Affairs Officer Charles Martin, from the US Consulate in Almaty, opened the conference and encouraged participants to utilize the conference trainings at home. The conference was packed with intensive trainings on project design and management with American Councils staff and Peace Corps volunteer trainers, as well as storytelling and photography trainings with Annie Escobar, founder of Awake Storytelling. Alumni also learned about funding opportunities for their projects, including the FLEX Alumni and Global Youth Service Day matching grants: programs funded through the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

During the project design and management trainings, alumni split into small teams to develop project ideas that would work in their communities. By the end of the conference, 29 project initiatives were ready to be implemented in communities across Central Asia. Project initiatives varied in theme and approach: from educational projects such as English language classes for disadvantaged students to mentoring programs and professional development opportunities for high school and university students. Alumni also developed fundraising and charity projects such as opening a second hand retail store in a struggling community to supporting local animal shelters.
Trainers knit the sessions together, offering alumni the chance to consider the stories behind their projects and how to best present their projects to potential volunteers and sponsors. Alumni practiced their public speaking skills while presenting their projects and learned how to create presentable project reports and take eye-catching photographs.
The opportunity for networking was one of the most important parts of the conference. This unique environment offered alumni the chance to meet, discuss regional issues, and collaborate on regional projects.

"Back home from one of the best trips of my life! # CAFLEXAbility, our instructors, trainers and American Councils staff made this experience nothing else but life changing," tweeted conference participant Nadezhda Pak '10 (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan).

The Central Asia FLEX-Ability Conference was made possible by funding from the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the US Embassy in Tajikistan. The conference was held on October 3-6, at Kazzhol Hotel in Almaty, Kazakhstan for 75 alumni from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Social Media specialists, participants, staff, and trainers posted live updates and pictures from the conference using hashtags #CAFLEXAbility and #FLEXAlumni on the official FLEX Alumni Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.

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