Bokonbaevo is a picturesque village on the southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, which is the centre of eco-tourism in Kyrgyzstan. Situated in a paradisiacal corner, against the backdrop of exciting mountain scenery and blue-blue Issyk-Kul sparkling in the sun, every year it welcomes hundreds of tourists from all over the world, longing for unity with nature, simple rural life, and acquaintance with original Kyrgyz traditions.
The village is located 160 km from Karakol and 280 km from Bishkek at an altitude of 1800 metres above sea level. From here, treks are offered along the Terskey Ala-Too mountain range, lasting from one day to two weeks, through wild hot springs, the salty Lake Manas Bowl and Kyrgyzstan’s longest waterfall.
On the coast of Issyk-Kul and at the foot of the mountains there are guest houses and yurt camps where you can live the traditional life of the Kyrgyz. It is great to get up at sunrise, have a breakfast of boorsoks and fresh koumiss, ride horses through dewy green meadows, and then have a hearty lunch of besh-barmak, byzhy, zhorg, swim in the warm Issyk-Kul or go fishing, and in the late evening listen to the songs of akyns around the campfire.
On 6-7 December, an educational training for youth and women “Basic digital skills and work on digital tourism platforms” was held in Bokonbaevo village. Participants from different districts of Issyk-Kul province signed up for the training, the project is aimed at increasing the employment potential of rural youth, women and migrants.
These trainings use the MISTT methodology adapted to the country. The mistt methodology (Mobile Internet Skills Trainings Toolkit) is an application for teaching basic mobile internet skills.
Our trainers taught all participants basic digital skills, and all those who came to this training learnt how to use social networks such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Google My Business WhatsApp and Telegram messengers in business.
This event is organised with the financial support of the European Union, the project “Sanarip Insan” “Creation of equal economic opportunities and promotion of youth sustainability”. It is implemented by the public association “Women’s Entrepreneurship Development Fund (She starts)”.
At the end of the two-day training, the participants were awarded certificates.
Sanarip Insan is a project aimed at improving digital literacy among young people, women, migrants and people living in remote regions. In particular, it proposes the use of digital platforms, learning the functions of social networks, digital financial applications, the use of information technology in online commerce and entrepreneurship, and ways of sustainable development through a green economy. The project is implemented by the European Neighbourhood Council and the Internet Society Kyrgyzstan Chapter with the support of the EU.
