Project Events

Conference in Tashkent

Conference on the “Social history and anthropogenic landscapes along the Syr Darya River: the overview of the environmental history based on archival materials and oral history” took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on April 18-19, 2016. The conference was organized by the University of Tuebingen and the History Institute of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences. The conference participants overviewed and critically accessed the archival sources and oral history pertaining to the environmental history of the Syr Darya basin.

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Transdisciplinary Flash Study, 26th-30th April 2018 

Shamaldy-Sai, Kyrgyzstan 

The Naryn-Syr Darya team held an innovative event to study river-city relations in Shamaldy- Sai in 2018. This interdisciplinary flash study was organized in cooperation with the local administration. It involved research participants from different universities and research centres in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Germany, Uzbekistan, USA, Britain, Tajikistan and Norway. Research activities and plans were blended with the cultural events and local celebrations, which presented good opportunities to establish close connections with residents. The participants attempted to find practical and philosophical approaches in combining scientific knowledge with epistemic communities to create reliable and effective ways of understanding the complex life of the riverside settlements in Central Asia.

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On the banks of the Syr Darya River: a dialogic workshop for environmental policy-maker and water-user communities in the Syr Darya Delta, Kazakhstan

Qazaly, Qyzylorda province, Kazakhstan. 22nd-24th September 2018.

Theme: Central Asian republics adopted broader standards to determine the socio-economic complexity of water issues, but often lacked the capacities to conduct and implement these approaches. The standards, based on the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach, sought to expand on the information used in determining river-basin level as a unit of water governance. Recognizing that many issues are politically contested and reflect complex social and power relations, a broader range of experts needed to be included to comment, and shape water usage policies and governance approaches.

However, recognizing the lack of opportunities to bring various experts together to share knowledge and build their capacities, this workshop brought together water professionals, decision-makers, and local water users to foster social learning among these stakeholders. The aim of the workshop was to create a platform for interaction between water professionals, decision-makers, and local users. The interactions were grounded in participants’ engagement in local people’s everyday practices related to water, such as fishing and reed-cutting. This event enhanced participants’ understanding of how various competing interests produce water-related decisions and policies and how the latter gets implemented on the ground.


In 2019 artist Cholpon Alamanova led two drawing workshops for young people in Shamaldy-Sai and Qazaly. The workshop provided a creative forum for young people to reflect on their interactions with the river and express their ideas artistically. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event was held partially online

Online art-class of artist Cholpon Alamanova with children of Shamaldy-Sai

Shamaldy-Sai, Kyrgyz Republic, 8th September, 2020


Online art-class of artist Cholpon Alamanova with children of Qazaly

Qazaly, Kazakhstan, 20th October, 2020

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