Almaty - Kazakhstan – 24 students from the Kazakh-German University (DKU) and German universities led by Lukas Grebenstein, a staff member of the DKU Presidential Office, visited the Headquarters of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) in Almaty.
The visit took place on 16 September 2025 as a part of the Summer School organized by DKU in cooperation with the Free University of Berlin (FUB).
During the visit, the students were introduced to the structure and areas of activity of CAREC. A presentation was given by Lyudmila Kiktenko, Program Manager for Environmental Management, who spoke about CAREC’s mission — to assist the governments of Central Asian countries, as well as regional and international partners, in addressing environmental protection and sustainable development challenges. She emphasized that over its 25-year history, CAREC has become a widely recognized leading regional knowledge hub and a platform for cooperation at both regional and international levels.
Another presentation was delivered by Irina Yugay, Acting Program Manager of Water Initiatives Support, who outlined the main areas of the program — promoting the principles of integrated water resources management in the region, establishing and developing platforms for regional cooperation, and harmonizing approaches to water education. The students were also introduced to tools of water diplomacy — the Blue Peace Index and the Water Footprint Assessment in the region.
The series of presentations was concluded by Azamat Kauazov, Program Manager for Climate Change and Sustainable Energy, and Coordinator of the Central Asian Climate Information Platform (CACIP). He noted that the program is focused on supporting national climate policies, promoting low-carbon development, improving energy efficiency, and introducing renewable energy sources.
Special attention was given to CACIP, which serves not only as a source of data on climate, water, and sustainable development but also as a platform for generating such information.
“CACIP provides data and publications that are useful for various sectors in the preparation of analytical materials and strategic documents,” Azamat Kauazov emphasized.
The students showed active interest in the topics, asked questions, and discussed opportunities to apply the knowledge gained in their own research. At the end of the visit, the students thanked the management and staff of CAREC for the warm welcome and the opportunity to learn about the organization's activities.
Contact person:
Irina Yugay - Project Manager, Water Initiatives Support Program, CAREC, wisspecialist@carececo.org