Dr. Aizharkyn Kozhobekova (Aijarkyn Kojobekova) is a Director of Civil Society Initiative. In the past she worked as an associate professor in Philosophy and a National expert in Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), Focal Point of Kyrgyzstan for the UNESCO Silk Roads Online Platform. Over the years she collaborated with different local and international organizations, including Open Society Institute, UNDP, UNESCO, IFES, SaferWorld, IWPR, Soros-Kyrgyzstan Foundation, Aigine Cultural Research Center and others. She has received a postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology of the University of Tuebingen (Germany). She has experience in designing and leading evaluations and/or reviews based on outcome harvesting, including a demonstrable understanding of qualitative and participatory approaches, working with Outcome Harvesting, or Most Significant Change and Utilisation-focused evaluation tools and teaching social sciences.
Her research interests include social/cultural memory studies, nationalism and nation building process, gender issues, political implications of religion, civil society and CSOs in Kyrgyzstan.
