On 17 September in Bishkek, Jusup Balasagyn Kyrgyz National University (KNU) hosted the Second International Conference “Expanding Possibilities: Education for Health and Well-Being in a Personality Developing Educational Environment.”
The conference was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic, territorial departments of education, faculty members of Jusup Balasagyn Kyrgyz National University (KNU), school principals and teachers, representatives from UNESCO, the Investment in the Future Charitable Foundation, partner organizations from Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan, and international experts.
Conference speakers addressed the importance of international cooperation among decision-makers, researchers, and practitioners to advance education in the areas of personality development, psychological well-being, and the health of children and adolescents. Participants were introduced to an advanced training program for teachers focused on creating an educational environment for personality development, promoting a healthy lifestyle, and addressing HIV prevention and other socially significant issues.
The conference was moderated by Alaibek Shamshiev, Director of the Institute for Retraining and Advanced Training of Personnel at KNU.
Dogdurbek Chontoev, Rector of KNU, along with representatives from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Council for Persons with Disabilities under the Cabinet of Ministers, extended welcoming remarks to conference participants.
During the plenary session, Gulshan Abdyldayeva, Chief Specialist of the Department of School and Extracurricular Education at the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic, and Rano Kutanova, Head of the Center for Advanced Teacher Training and Inclusive Education at KNU, summarized the achievements of 10 years of work on integrating the healthy lifestyle component into Kyrgyzstan’s education system.
The importance of developing students’ personality potential and the need to create a supportive educational environment were highlighted in presentations by Petr Polozhevets, Executive Director of the Investment in the Future Charitable Foundation, Ekaterina Khaustova, Manager for Academic Partnerships of the Personality Potential Development Program at the Investment in the Future Charitable Foundation, and other speakers.
Addressing conference participants, Tigran Yepoyan, Health Education Advisor at UNESCO IITE, emphasized: “Everyone needs knowledge and skills for maintaining a healthy and safe lifestyle and building strong relationships. These skills are best formed in an educational environment that fosters the development of students’ personality potential. The knowledge and skills acquired in school often play a crucial role in the health and well-being of a person and those around them.”
The second part of the plenary session focused on the adoption of educational practices aimed at fostering personality development, well-being, and health among children in kindergartens and schools. Guzel Turdubayeva, Chief Specialist for the Advancement of Education at the Bishkek Mayor’s Office Department of Education, shared insights on how the country’s first-ever competition “Best Homeroom Hour on Healthy Lifestyle” was organized and conducted among schools in Bishkek.
In turn, experts from Russia—principals and teachers from Russian educational institutions—shared their successful experiences in creating supportive environments for personality development in schools and kindergartens. Alexey Mokrushin, principal of School No. 25 in Kaluga, presented a human-centered approach to managing an educational organization; Victoria Velizhanina, principal of School No. 39 (“French Gymnasium”) in Yekaterinburg, discussed her experience in maximizing parental involvement in their children’s school life. Ayana Ivanova, head of the “Skazka” kindergarten in the village of Yabogan, Altai Republic, addressed issues related to social and emotional development in the context of bilingualism, while Valentina Ovcharenko, teacher of supplementary education at School No. 21 in Krasnoyarsk, shared her experience in fostering initiative and independence in children based on the “Ladder of Participation” concept.
At the conclusion of the conference, the floor was given to international participants, including representatives from the education system of the Republic of Kazakhstan and delegations from Ferghana State University and Sharof Rashidov State University in Samarkand.
Other significant events at the international conference included awarding of the title of Honorary Professor of KNU to Petr Polozhevets, presentation of certificates of appreciation to national partners and international participants, and the opening ceremony of the Resource Center for a Healthy Lifestyle and Personality Potential Development, established at the Institute of Retraining and Advanced Training of Personnel at KNU with support from UNESCO IITE and the Investment in the Future Charitable Foundation.
The conference was organized by J. Balasagyn Kyrgyz National University in collaboration with the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education, the UNESCO Regional Office in Almaty, and the Investment in the Future Charitable Foundation.
This was the second international conference on personality development and healthy lifestyle, organized by UNESCO in collaboration with the Investment in the Future Charitable Foundation and partners in Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
The first such conference was held in October 2023 in Astana, Kazakhstan. It was attended by experts from Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus. Read more about this conference here.