“Peace and Conflict Studies Concentration aims to educate students in the culture of peace and resolution of conflicts. Kyrgyzstan is a multicultural state with many ethnic and religious groups living on its territory. The relationships between them are not always peaceful but sometimes tense and even violent. The interethnic conflicts between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in 1990 and 2010, the tensions between the members of traditional and non-traditional confessions strengthened demand for opening peace studies programs that will train students in the culture of peace and resolution of conflicts.
Moreover, the increasing diversity of the globalizing world, migrations, religious extremism, nationalism, interstate tensions, and wars - raised the issue of training the new generation of leaders in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia that will be able to promote inter-communal peace and tolerance.
Government officials, policemen, social workers, teachers and other specialists trained in traditional national educational institutions and majors usually lack the specialized knowledge and skills to understand various factors behind intergroup and interpersonal conflicts that threaten the harmony and stability of the society in Kyrgyzstan. And therefore, fail to respond adequately to the challenges posed by them in a nonviolent and constructive way.
I would like to recommend students to keep informed about all majors of AUCA and concentrations at the Liberal Arts and Sciences department to find the one that would be the most aid belong to them.
Students of AUCA are so diverse with different talents, so each one can find the field that she/he will be the most successful and finally professional in,” says Cholpon Chotaeva, Peace and Conflict Studies concentration coordinator.