Kazakhstan Life & Culture - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 7 - 12 of 101

Over 100,000 People with Disabilities Employed in Kazakhstan

According to statistics issued by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population on 1 April, 730.5 thousand people with disabilities live in Kazakhstan, equivalent to 3.6% of the total population. Amongst the 419.9,000 of working age, over 11.8,000 have received state support in securing employment, and today, 104.8,000 or 27.4% have jobs. In adherence to the Social Code of Kazakhstan, companies and organizations with at least 50 employees are required to establish a quota of jobs for persons with disabilities in the amount of 2% to 4%. The only exclusions are positions involving heavy manual work and potentially dangerous working conditions. In January-March alone, 3.9,000 people with disabilities were employed under the quota, 12 people received short-term vocational training, and 1.2,000 were trained in the rudiments of entrepreneurship. Since 2018, subsidies have also been available to help cover employers’ costs of equipping and creating specialized workplaces for persons with disabilities.

Central Asia Home Life & Culture Kazakhstan Life & Culture Kazakhstan Features Kazakhstan Featurees

A View from the Rally in Prague in Support of Saltanat Nukenova

On Sunday, 21 April in the center of Prague on Wenceslas Square, some 200 people attended a rally in memory of Saltanat Nukenova and in protest against violence against women. The event took place against the backdrop of the trial of former Kazakh minister, Kuandyk Bishimbayev, who is accused of torturing and murdering Saltanat Nukenova, with whom he was bound in a common-law marriage. In an interview with The Times of Central Asia, Aruzhan, one of the organizers, described the various problems encountered by the team, beginning with the hostile criticism expressed by many young hecklers with little or no knowledge of the situation. “We were bombarded with comments like, ‘Kazakhstan has enough problems;’ ‘Why didn't you come out for the floods?’, ‘Only one person died,’ and so on. It was both frustrating and unpleasant to see that side of our young people but I think, and hope, that the rally woke some of them up and changed their minds.There were also those in Saltanat Ushin's group who twice expressed their ‘valuable opinion’ and provoked quarrels between the participants." Image: Asel Kamiyeva Despite a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan that it was happy for its youth to speak out, there was a marked absence of support from the embassy. Aruzhan said it was disappointing, but nowhere near as bad as what happened in Tbilisi, where during a similar rally the Kazakh embassy had openly threatened and called in the organizers. Aruzhan explained that officials had accused the organizers of acting in defiance of the embassy, and, whilst logging their details, told them they should be ashamed and focus instead on other problems. She said that they been repeatedly told, "the law's already been passed, so calm down.” “In every city where a rally was held, the embassy behaved in this way, even after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement claiming they supported our action and were happy for us to express our position." Aruzhan described an incident which illustrated that a close eye was being kept on proceedings: "Before the rally, a large car arrived on site. Intimidating-looking men leapt out, made a quick assessment of the number of people gathered, and drove off. They spoke in Russian and Kazakh." Image: Asel Kamiyeva Another challenge facing the organizers, was the lack of media support. "The groups to which I made initial announcements about the rally deleted my posts, explaining that they had 'cultural content that does not concern politics'. It was funny and sad to read this; funny that we are perceived not to touch politics, and sad that they are so shaken by it. In Istanbul, the embassy scared people so much that they gave up the idea of going to the rally. At our rally, we shot reportage that came out more like a social video. Not a single media outlet picked it up. I think that says a lot about how censorship works. So we turned to bloggers, Russian-speaking media...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Life & Culture Kazakhstan Business & Economy

Kazakhstan Postpones Games of the Future

To channel funds into eliminating the consequences of unprecedented spring flooding in Kazakhstan, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has issued an order to halt costly image-building and other major events. The decision announced by the Kazakh Ministry of Tourism and Sport on 26 April, will directly impact the Games of the Future, a phygital sports show in which competitors challenge each other in physical and digital dimensions. Following his attendance at the first ever Games in the city of Kazan, Russia, in February this year, President Tokayev announced that Kazakhstan would host the next round in 2025. The event has now been postponed until 2026. Kazakhstan also plans to optimize the cost of organizing the 5th World Nomad Games to be held in Astana from 8 -14 September.

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Life & Culture Kazakhstan International Affairs Kazakhstan Business & Economy

British Companies Enter Commercial Agreements with Kazakhstan

Two new Kazakh-British business agreements were signed off during UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron’s visit to Kazakhstan on 24 April. The first, between AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Healthcare, Almaty City Administration and Kazakh Invest, aims to implement an investment project for contract manufacturing of biotechnological products in Kazakhstan. According to Kazakh Invest, the agreement represents a significant step towards Kazakhstan’s goal to increase its share of domestically- produced medicines in the local market to 50%. The second deal, signed by the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan and British company Car Park Transformer, makes provision for the construction of roadside service facilities on Kazakhstan’s national and international highways. Comprising 250 service stations equipped with restrooms, retail spaces, as well as electric vehicle charging points, the project aims to provide essential services and enhance the comfort of motorists.

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Life & Culture

Starlink Broadband Reaches More Schools in Kazakhstan

The Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan has announced that a further 250 Starlink terminals have been sent to rural schools in three of the country’s regions. Akmola received 138 terminals; Zhambyl, 53, and Zhetysu, 55. Starlink terminals have also been installed in 48 schools in flood-hit regions to ensure uninterrupted education and today, 502 rural schools across the country, have access to an average Internet speed of 200 Mbit/s. The provision of high-speed Internet and the development of digital projects in rural schools is a long-standing priority and last week, to progress the initiative, the Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Bagdat Musin met representatives of SpaceX to discuss its expansion of Starlink technology throughout Kazakhstan.

Central Asia Home Life & Culture Kazakhstan Life & Culture Kazakhstan Features Kazakhstan Featurees

The Art of Words: Writer Andrei Orlov Discusses the Development of Kazakhstan’s Literary Industry

Andrei Orlov is an acclaimed writer who has actively influenced the development of Kazakhstan’s literature through the creation of a community of writers and the organization of cultural events. In this interview, he offers his perspective of how the art of the written word shapes a nation’s cultural heritage and stimulates the development of its literary scene. How do you view the contemporary Kazakhstani literary scene? What changes and trends have been noticeable in recent years? I've been in the industry for seven years and have witnessed a lot of changes. Many authors have finally realized that their craft is not limited to printed books and are slowly moving online and exploring specialized digital products. The stereotypical view that samizdat is bad has almost been erased. Conservative writers are still of the opinion that if they want to publish, they should only do so under the auspices of a publishing house. But in our country where supply does not meet demand, samizdat offers an excellent means of embarking on your creative path. I know many authors who have self-published and then, after the first or even third book, received offers from publishing houses. Literature is changing in general. More and more people are writing about things they really care about and understand. For example, over the last 3-4 years, business literature has significantly increased; something I consider a great achievement for the country. What are the main challenges facing Kazakhstani writers today? The challenge is not to die! But jesting aside, there are many difficulties faced by contemporary authors. As I said, there are now far fewer publishing houses in the country, which means that authors must do everything themselves: writing, editing, design, illustration, layout, presentation, promotion. Some tasks are obviously passed to specialists, but these are all issues which many authors are ill-equipped to resolve. We also want our books to provide income or at least, recoup costs. Unfortunately, that rarely happens especially the first-time round. And here we come back to the problem about which I talk non-stop: a writer must treat his project (book) like a business. Otherwise, things are hard. People in Kazakhstan are still unused to reading their writers. It was a similar case with music, when earlier on, there was prejudice against domestic music producers. But once they proved their quality and, in a sense, turned the whole market upside down, listeners began to engage. The same thing should happen with literature. Does the Kazakhstani writing environment reflect contemporary social, cultural and political changes in the country? No, rather than yes. Few authors write on such topics. They are a hundred percent afraid to write about politics. Only a few can afford to do so. I recently published a collection of poetry and under the auspices of our club, organized a contest and selected works. A series of poems on a political theme was submitted. Devoid of any harsh criticism, it was more akin to satire. Our editors, however, were afraid...