This quarter, CABAR.asia analytical platform focused on topics related to the crisis in Kazakhstan at the beginning of the year and the impact of the Russo-Ukrainian war on the Central Asian countries.

The countries of the region and their citizens face negative consequences. We present a selection of analytical materials about the migrants' difficulties, the impact of ongoing events on the economies of the countries of the region, evacuations from Ukraine, as well as about how the Central Asian media cover the war and related topics.

We continue to hold our online panel discussions, which bring together Central Asian researchers and aim to present a valuable forum for them.

This quarter, our meetings focused on the important social and political trends in the region. In February, our experts spoke about the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Tokayev's reform potential after the bloody events of January 2022 and the new political course labelled "Kazakhstan 2.0". We also discussed the prospects for cryptocurrency mining in Central Asia focusing on the legal and energy infrastructure in the region. The most popular and viewed meeting was a panel discussion of the issues of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) of Tajikistan. This region has a number of complex conflicts and problems; as part of our discussion, the experts discussed the history of the region, the socio-political roots of the local conflicts, the human rights protection in GBAO, and the possibilities for overcoming the current crisis.

The freedom of the press in the region and related issues, such as the spread of fake news and media literacy of the population, became common topics at the regional panel discussions.

This year, we resumed our offline country meetings. We discussed financial literacy through the lens of cryptocurrency mining in Kyrgyzstan and the possible consequences of the war in Ukraine for Tajikistan during our offline meetings held in March.

In the meantime, we are preparing for one of the largest festivals in Central Asia – Go Viral Festival. This year, its slogan is 'Search. Invent. Solve'.

The sixth annual Go Viral Central Asia 2022 Festival will be held in the cities of Central Asian countries starting from May 13, 2022. The Festival will start in Dushanbe (May 13-15, Hyatt Regency Hotel); then, it will be held in Tashkent (May 28-29, Lumiere Hotel), Bishkek (June 10-11, I.Razzakov Kyrgyz State Technical University), Almaty (June 24-26, KIMEP University) and Ashgabat (July 2, 2022).

Go Viral Festival facilitates networking, inspires innovative ideas and creative collaborative projects, increases the visibility of local entrepreneurs, and promotes cooperation across cultures and industries.

Despite the observed progress in the sphere of children's rights in Tajikistan during the past decade, conflicts, poverty, and migration combined with the consequences of COVID-19, still pose a major threat to their protection. The media, and especially digital media, can play an important role in raising awareness of the importance of children's rights and in creating a safe environment for children both online and offline.

IWPR Tajikistan with UNICEF support implemented a four-month project to raise awareness among young people about these rights. IWPR Tajikistan hosted a social media marathon for young journalists, bloggers, and influencers. They created and distributed new media content about children's rights.

IWPR has completed a three-year Development of New Media and Digital Journalism in Central Asia project. The project was aimed at creating and amplifying high-quality content and critical thinking skills in the media and Internet space of our region. Completing the project, we, once again, discussed the content first.

The beneficiaries and partners of the project presented their stories and shared their experiences of working in media with an audience of beginners and practicing content makers.

CABAR.asia Media School brings together content makers from the entire region. We have teamed up to create and produce quality content, improve the already available content, grow professionally as content makers, and develop our personal branding. We want to grow into a large community of like-minded people – content creators who implement joint cross-regional projects.