Myrzagul Baialieva was born in Kyrgyzstan and spent her childhood in Jalal-Abad, which is situated in the southern part of Kyrgyzstan. Myrzagul obtained a master's degree in economics from Ankara University in Turkey. She has professional experience as the Executive Director of the local non-governmental organization ProKG, which focuses on youth capacity building, as well as a research and consultancy institute.

Currently, Myrzagul holds the position of Thematic Lead for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment at Search for Common Ground, a prominent international NGO dedicated to peacebuilding. In this role, she oversees and coordinates various projects aimed at preventing violent extremism (PVE), promoting economic empowerment for women entrepreneurs, and enhancing social cohesion within communities. The primary objective of these projects is to bring about behavioral, attitudinal, and mindset changes through outreach campaigns. Myrzagul's current area of focus is centered around women's issues in Kyrgyzstan and advancing women's empowerment. 

IVLP Impact Award Project: Eco Guardians: Begin Making a Difference Today

Myrzagul's project was an educational media campaign which refuted fake information that is prominently circulated among the residents of Bishkek about the waste recycling system. The media campaign raised the awareness of city residents about the importance of waste sorting and debunked fake and unverified information that all sorted garbage is eventually sent to the city's landfill. As of the end of the project, the new Instagram account had over six thousand followers, and the TikTok account had 175 followers and nearly 5,000 likes. Over 57 publications were posted on Instagram, along with 21 videos on TikTok, so the media campaign reached over 700,000 people, across both platforms. Myrzagul also received two collaboration proposals, the first from a governmental school in Osh that requested the project team conduct training sessions for school pupils on waste sorting. The other proposal was from a private sector construction company seeking consultation on waste sorting and the installation of garbage boxes. These proposals underscore the reach and importance of the project even beyond the original target audience.

Through this project, residents of Bishkek were educated about the importance of waste sorting, and the waste sorting infrastructure in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The project changed the thinking and behavior of the city's residents and created a shift towards protecting the surrounding area, specifically, more than one hundred individuals expressed their commitment to adopting waste sorting practices by sending letters to the project team.

"I want to contribute to the improvement of my community and change people's thinking and behavior for the better." - Myrzagul Baialieva

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Myrzagul was a participant in the IVLP Project 21st Century ChangeMakers: Engaging Youth in the Battle Against Disinformation, organized by the U.S. Department of State and CRDF Global.

Myrzagul's exchange experience led to the development of her IVLP Impact Award Project: "In this program, we learned [about] combating fake news, [and about the] importance of debunking disinformation. We learned ways of providing verified information, I will use this knowledge during [my project]."

U.S. Communities Visited

Birmingham, AL; Washington, DC; Pensacola, FL; Atlanta, GA

"IVLP gave me great motivation and confidence to be a real changemaker." - Myrzagul Baialieva

Country: Kyrgyzstan 

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