International Republican Institute (IRI)
Local Political Communications & Campaigning
$250,000
Public Summary: To strengthen political organizations and the political system overall against crises, the Institute will work with civil society actors, local politicians, and political parties to improve their ability to communicate with and cultivate political bases. Trainings on advocacy, public opinion research, and constituent engagement will improve these actors’ ability to channel public opinion and resolve issues productively.
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)
Local Leaders for Effective Change
$322,000
Public Summary: To support improved governance in Kyrgyzstan’s regions, the Institute will increase the responsiveness of local government structures in Kyrgyzstan to address diverse and complex local concerns. As Kyrgyzstan’s national level politicians are occupied with reforms and evolving party politics, local level representatives are increasingly important to ensuring that government delivers on citizens’ concerns. The Institute will improve the capacity of local council members who are also party members to facilitate inclusive and participatory decision-making processes and to address diverse and complex issues facing their communities, and to integrate these issue-facing methodologies into existing or developing party structures. With support from local experts, the Institute will guide participating local council members through a six-stage policy development process that directly involves constituents, particularly women and traditionally underrepresented communities, as councilors seek sustainable solutions. Given that certain prominent issues require regional collaboration to resolve, the Institute also will facilitate collaboration with neighboring local council partners to increase accountability among higher-level government actors.
Kloop Media, z.s.
Promoting Free and Fair Elections
$595,900
Public Summary: To promote free and fair elections in the Kyrgyz Republic. The organization will deploy 1,600 volunteer monitors for the presidential and parliamentary elections and constitutional referendum planned for early 2021, following the failed and fraudulent 2020 parliamentary elections. The monitors will reach nearly every polling station in the country and provide reporting on election violations in real time. Following the election, the organization will publish a comprehensive report to its website and submit official complaints to the Central Electoral Commission. The organization is one of the Kyrgyz Republic’s leading independent media outlets, providing credible coverage and analyses, and as a trusted outlet, is currently the only independent organization equipped to monitor elections given the absence of election monitoring outfits in the country
Institute of Public Analysis
Strengthening Access to Justice
$60,000
Public Summary: To strengthen the rule of law. The organization will monitor court proceedings throughout the country to detect and expose abuse of power and inconsistencies in the legal code. Using the findings of monitors, the organization will report violations to the court system’s disciplinary mechanisms and present recommendations to parliament on strengthening existing legislation and to the Ministry of Justice and the court system on improving transparency and combatting abuses. The organization was founded in 2011 by a prominent lawyer who has served on presidential working groups dedicated to improving the efficiency and transparency of the legal system.
Legal Clinic Adilet
Defending Human Rights
$110,000
Public Summary: To promote the rule of law and defend the civil and political rights of citizens in the Kyrgyz Republic. The organization will analyze draft legislation and other normative acts for adherence to domestic and international civil and political rights standards; publish materials in print and online; and provide targeted legal aid to civic and political activists and journalists whose rights have been violated. The organization is a leading human rights organization staffed with experienced lawyers who have worked to address violations of civil and political rights since 2002
Civics
Promoting Civic Engagement
$41,600
Public Summary: To promote public discussion of key issues regarding democratic governance and civic To promote public discussion of key issues regarding democratic governance and civic engagement. The organization will develop three online video debate programs discussing key issues facing Kyrgyz society, which it will distribute through its widely popular among youth social media channels. It will create a series of short videos for social media discussing current political and social issues. Finally, the organization will recruit experts to train 30 activists from Bishkek and the regions who have recently become civically engaged. The organization was founded in 2014 to promote civic education, and has risen to prominence, especially among Krygyz youth, due to its involvement in the past year’s anti-corruption demonstrations.
Media Development Center
Strengthening Election Integrity
$94,000
Public Summary: To strengthen the integrity of the electoral process in the Kyrgyz Republic. Utilizing a methodological toolkit on disinformation during elections, the organization will conduct social media monitoring of the activities of political party representatives and opinion leaders, as well as expose fake accounts and false information. Following an initial training on social media monitoring, the organization will produce periodic reports of its monitoring findings, and one final report. It will disseminate its findings and recommendations at a final roundtable. The organization was founded in 2013 and specializes in monitoring the media landscape in the Kyrgyz Republic
Innovation Laboratory
Increasing Capacity for Investigative Journalism
$45,000
Public Summary: To increase the capacity of Kyrgyz journalists to conduct investigative journalism. The organization will train journalists in the basics of investigative journalism, including working with open source data, focusing on journalists working and writing in the Kyrgyz language press. The organization’s experienced journalists will conduct investigations into the undeclared income and property of high-ranking government officials and parliamentarians, which they will publish online. Established in 2010, the organization has emerged as a leading advocate for media freedom and a resource for improving the professional capacity of journalists.
Political Processes
Strengthening Voters’ Access to Parliament
$31,000
Public Summary: To strengthen voters’ access to parliament. Ahead of the 2020 parliamentary elections, the organization will assist citizens seeking to engagement with members of parliament, assessing the existing mechanisms for citizens to communicate with their representatives and making recommendations to parliamentarians to improve access. Ahead of the 2021 parliamentary and presidential elections and the constitutional referendum, the organization also will launch a public information campaign explaining value of the parliamentary model in promoting democracy, accountability, and power-sharing. Established in 2018, the organization is led by a veteran activist with over 15 years of experience and extensive contacts with civil society, government, and international partners.
Public Association “Center for Political and Legal Studies”
Promoting Public Discussion and Political Discourse
$62,000
Public Summary: To advance policy debate and promote reform in the Kyrgyz Republic. The organization will host a series of expert-led discussions, publish regular news analysis and commentary, and produce a series of policy papers suggesting concrete action for parliament and ministries. All activities will provide a platform for facilitated, productive exchange and discussion among influential leaders from diverse backgrounds, including politics, civil society, business, the media, and academia.
Public Union “Peaceful Initiatives”
Promoting Democratic Values
$109,000
Public Summary: To promote democratic ideas and values among youth in the remote Batken Region in the south of the Kyrgyz Republic. The organization will implement a debate program for university and high school students, covering political and social issues, along with other activities on civic education and leadership for youth and adults. The project aims to inspire civic and political engagement among populations with limited exposure to public life.
Human Rights
Promoting Rule of Law
$38,000
Public Summary: To promote the rule of law and the development of fair and transparent legal processes. The organization will provide protection to civic and political activists through emergency legal support, strategic litigation, appeals to United Nations bodies, and security trainings. The project will respond to unfolding threats to civil society, using the legal system to pressure the government to meet its constitutional and international obligations.
Zhebe
Promoting Access to Information
$54,000
Public Summary: To promote access to independent, professional, and objective news coverage and analysis in Kyrgyz. The organization will produce original video content for its news website, including debates and panel discussions with diverse guests, as well as livestreams of current events and fact checks. The project aims to address the lack of credible, quality media aimed at the Kyrgyz-speaking population, which has left it less informed and vulnerable to disinformation
Center Polis Asia
Preserving Historical Memory
$79,000
Public Summary: To promote understanding of the Kyrgyz Republic’s modern history and to foster discussion of historical memory. The organization’s experts will contribute to research and discourse on historical memory and develop a textbook and accompanying educational materials for use in universities and schools. It also will support initiative groups throughout the country exploring local historical memory. The project will emphasize the legacy of Soviet authoritarianism on modern democratic development.
“Economist”
Strengthening Independent Media
$58,000
Public Summary: To provide political and economic news and analysis for the business community in the Kyrgyz Republic. The organization will provide daily coverage and host a series of public roundtables, emphasizing economic and political issues. The project will help to fill the gap in quality Kyrgyz-language media while also offering content in Russian. The content will respond to the growing interest in and understanding of political engagement and participation in civic activism by entrepreneurs and owners of small business
Civics
Strengthening Citizen Support for Parliamentary Democracy
$63,500
Public Summary: To strengthen public support for and understanding of representative parliamentary democracy in the Kyrgyz Republic. The project will conduct a series of activities around the country to create bonds between parliament and the public, including trainings on parliamentary engagement, discussions with members of parliament on constituent relations, and a series of “Model Parliament” workshops. The focus on parliament is a response to recent constitutional changes that introduced a strong-presidential system and reduced the role of the legislative branch.
Legal Initiative Bishkek Public Foundation
Strengthening Civic Society and Rule of Law
$45,000
Public Summary: To strengthen and protect civil society in the Kyrgyz Republic. Using a curriculum that it has developed, the organization will provide civic education trainings to a group of young activists from different regions of the country, introducing them to the concepts of civil society, civic engagement, civic activism, democratic governance, and rule of law. The organization also will initiate strategic litigation in defense of freedom of association.
Media Policy Institute
Protecting Freedom of Speech
$48.000
Public Summary: To protect media freedom in the Kyrgyz Republic. The organization will monitor and confront threats to freedom of expression arising from legal cases, legislation, and intimidation, against a backdrop of authoritarian consolidation of power. Activities will include pursuing strategic litigation, monitoring legal developments, advocating to the government and international partners, and providing a forum for independent media and civil society to discuss challenges.
Civic Engagement
Supporting a New Generation of Human Rights Activists
$119,000
Public Summary: To promote the development of a new generation of young human rights defenders. The organization will conduct a series of trainings for young civic activists, covering practical and theoretical concerns related to human rights work. Students will receive support from experienced mentors, and the six strongest students will receive stipends to complete research projects. Alumni from previous human rights schools will also continue to participate in events.
Jalalabad Regional Human Rights Organization Spravedlivost
Promoting Human Rights
$99,000
Public Summary: To expand the availability of reliable and detailed information about human rights in remote regions of the Kyrgyz Republic, promote the defense and protection of human rights and civic freedoms, and raise the level of legal knowledge and awareness of citizens of their basic rights. The organization will maintain its network of human rights NGOs, monitor human rights abuses, and provide free legal aid.
Accountability and Transparency
Supporting Anticorruption Video Investigations
$100,000
Public Summary: To promote the production of anticorruption investigations in the Kyrgyz Republic. The organization will produce at least 12 in-depth 30-minute videos and at least 24 10-minute mini-investigation videos. The investigations will focus on topics related to corruption in the country and how it hinders good governance and democratization reforms. The organization will publish its investigations on YouTube, Instagram, and other social media networks.
Public Foundation “Media Space”
Promoting Independent Online Media
$48,800
Public Summary: To protect media freedom in the Kyrgyz Republic. The organization will monitor and confront threats to freedom of expression arising from legal cases, legislation, and intimidation, against a backdrop of authoritarian consolidation of power. Activities will include pursuing strategic litigation, monitoring legal developments, advocating to the government and international partners, and providing a forum for independent media and civil society to discuss challenges.
Public Foundation “Association of Lawyers KG”
Monitoring the Impact of Constitutional Changes
$100,000
Public Summary: To combat threats to the rule of law in the Kyrgyz Republic. The organization will monitor and analyze implementation of the country’s newly adopted constitution, which consolidates the executive power of an authoritarian president. The organization will monitor the legal, human rights, and economic impact of changes to the criminal, civil, and administrative codes under the new constitution. Activities will include analyses of the legal, human rights, and economic impact of the changes, public discussions, and trainings for junior lawyers
Batken Branch of the Public Foundation “For Tolerance International”
Promoting Citizen Engagement in Local Self Government
$40,000
Public Summary: To foster citizens’ effective participation in local decision-making processes by increasing the transparency and accountability of city and village-level governance bodies in Batken Oblast. The organization will run communications trainings and build web tools to help mayor’s offices and city councils more openly and effectively communicate with citizens. A publicity campaign will introduce the public to outputs of the project, connecting citizens more closely with the local governance bodies that are responsible for a range of issues, from everyday administration to managing conflicts.
Jnomics Media LTD
Strengthening Independent Media
$110,000
Public Summary: To improve the professional, strategic, and administrative capacity of media organizations in the Kyrgyz Republic. The organization will provide in-depth, continuous mentorship and training to four local media outlets in the Kyrgyz Republic. The project will advise these partners on developing strategic plans, making their operations more efficient, and promoting long-term financial sustainability. The organization will tailor the activities for each partner based on their specific needs, drawing on experience from experience elsewhere in the region.
Civics
Promoting Civic Engagement
$119,500
Public Summary: To promote public discussion of key issues regarding democratic governance and civic engagement. The organization will develop three online video debate programs discussing key issues facing Kyrgyz society, which it will distribute through social media. It will also create a series of short videos for social media discussing current political and social issues. Finally, the organization will recruit experts to train 30 activists from Bishkek and the regions who have recently become civically engaged.
Progressive Public Organization of Women “Mutakallim”
Strengthening Women’s Political Participation
$65,000
Public Summary: To promote political and civic participation of religious women in the Kyrgyz Republic. The organization will support women’s engagement at all levels of society, including through informal education in local neighborhoods and villages, advocacy to regional and municipal authorities, and involvement in national religious bodies that hold quasi-governmental powers. Through public information campaigns and dialogue with political and clerical leaders, the project will build broad support for women’s involvement and influence in public life.
Civic Engagement
Promoting Youth Political Participation
$170,000
Public Summary: To promote youth participation in politics in the Kyrgyz Republic. The organization will organize discussion clubs, training programs, round tables, mentorship programs and meetings with politicians to give youth the leadership, networking and communications skills they need to become involved in regional and national politics in the Kyrgyz Republic. Youth will meet with their peers and with activists, experts, politicians and program alumni, allowing them to advocate for relevant causes and build diverse networks with participants and experts.
