In last week's publication, we talked about the early days of our youth idea generation lab.
Вhe second half of the lab was devoted to an in-depth study of discrimination and inequality, interfaith interaction, radicalization, and the preparation of socially significant initiatives.
Coach Asel Dunganayeva told us about the relationship between religious freedom and gender equality, the involvement of gender roles in the formation of inequality, and the pyramid of violence. We learned about national and international legislation regulating key human rights in this area. A separate section was devoted to the consideration of stereotypes and prejudices in religious and gender spheres.
Ruslan Temirkhanov from the Center spoke about interreligious dialogue as a key tool in building benevolent relationships. We considered dialogue as a process of development of society and the development of the individual. Dialogue makes it possible to better understand both representatives of other identities and ourselves. The speaker presented current successful examples and projects contributing to the promotion of interreligious dialogue.
In the session "Radicalism Does Not Tolerate Thinkers," expert Nurlan Ismailov talked about conformism and nihilism as causes of radicalization. We came to the conclusion that critical thinking serves as the fundamental prevention of radicalization. The expert also clearly demonstrated what he had learned through an intellectual game.
The speaker Duyshenova Zhyldyz continued her work on critical thinking. Sections were aimed at increasing the skills of recognizing manipulation. Through practical work participants were able to see the need for education and information literacy on manipulation. We analyzed the process of spreading rumors on the Internet and ways to resist them.
In the evening of the final day there was a dynamic and emotional intellectual game-quiz on the topics covered, as well as a general awareness of religious diversity.
On the final day, participants joined like-minded teams and worked with coaches to prepare their proposals for social initiatives. At the end of the lab, the teams finalized their proposals for the initiative competition.
The idea generation lab ended with a tour of places of worship in Bishkek. We were able to visit several religious sites of different denominations: the central mosque named after Imam Sarakhsy, a Kyrgyz mosque. Imam Sarakhsi Central Mosque, the Kyrgyz Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, and a Roman Catholic parish.
The next Idea Generation Lab will be held in Osh, after which a total of 15 social initiatives will be supported by participants from the north and south of Kyrgyzstan.
The Laboratory for the Generation of Ideas is organized by the Research Center for Religious Studies in cooperation with Search for Common Ground Kyrgyzstan.