12th Annual Life in Kyrgyzstan – a Platform to Discuss Evidence on Kyrgyzstan’s Social and Economic Development
Bishkek, 7-8 October, 2026 - The 12th Annual Life in Kyrgyzstan (LiK) Conference brought together researchers, policymakers and development practitioners around a shared resource and a shared goal: generating reliable evidence on the changes shaping Kyrgyzstan and the wider region. As the Life in Kyrgyzstan Study continues to build one of the country’s longest-running household datasets, the conference provides a space for this evidence to be tested, discussed and translated into new research and practical policy questions.
Organised by UCA , Leibniz Institute of Horticultural Sciences (IGZ) and the International Security and Development Centre (ISDC) the conference featured keynote presentations and thematic sessions covering migration, household welfare, labour markets, gender and public policy, climate change, food and agriculture, youth and social cohesion, poverty, education and the use of machine learning in research and policymaking.
“As an institution, UCA’s mission is deeply rooted in supporting mountain communities and advancing their economic and societal development. This is at the heart of who we are and what we do. We are therefore proud to convene this important platform for researchers and partners across Central Asia, bringing evidence and dialogue together to better understand the opportunities and challenges facing the region’s mountain communities,” said Professor Eran Edirisinghe, Dean of Research at UCA.
The LiK Conference is based on the Life in Kyrgyzstan Study, a long-running longitudinal research project that collects seven waves of panel data on the lives and well-being of households across Kyrgyzstan since 2010. The annual conference provides a platform for researchers working with the dataset and any new empirical data to present academic findings, exchange research and policy-relevant concepts and ideas and explore new areas for collaboration.
Tilman Brück, Professor at Humboldt University of Berlin, IGZ and ISDC, who has led the Life in Kyrgyzstan Study since 2010, highlighted the role of the conference in connecting research with policy.
“We are collecting the Life in Kyrgyzstan data to track what’s happening in the Kyrgyz Republic. Here at the 12th annual Life in Kyrgyzstan conference, we’re coming together to discuss the latest research findings and to provide evidence for policymakers in Kyrgyzstan to support the social and economic growth of the country,” he said.
This year’s keynote speakers were Dr Damir Esenaliev of IGZ and ISDC and Dr Olga Popova of the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies and the University of Regensburg.
Reflecting on findings from the latest wave of the study, Dr Esenaliev noted several changes in how people in Kyrgyzstan perceive their lives and the changes taking place around them.
“Last year we completed the data collection for the latest wave, and there are some interesting findings. For example, life satisfaction has increased significantly, as has satisfaction with how their lives are changing,” he said. “At the same time, there are many new topics to explore, including how people perceive climate change and what is happening within households, including among children.”
Dr Popova’s keynote focused on informality and women’s empowerment in Central Asia and their relevance to economic and social development in the region.
“I talked about informality and women’s empowerment in Central Asia, reflecting on different aspects and highlighting why it is important for economic development and for overall social development in the countries in the region,”- shared Dr Popova’s on her keynote.
For UCA, this work is part of a broader commitment to strengthening the research and analytical capacity needed to understand and respond to the challenges facing Central Asia’s mountain communities.
The conference was held in partnership with the American University of Central Asia (AUCA), Ala-Too International University (AIU), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the World Bank.
