Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU), from Qatar, recently took part in a three-day conference at the Graduate School of Public Policy of Nazarbayev University in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.  Dr. Leslie A Pal, Dean of HBKU’s College of Public Policy, delivered the closing plenary at the 2019 Graduate School of Public Policy Conference on Risk, Rationality and Resilience. Dr. Pal had previously taken part in meetings at the Graduate School of Development and the Institute of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Central Asia’s (UCA) offices in Bishkek where he met Dr. Bodhan Krawchenko (Dean of UCA). UCA boasts three dynamic and state-of the-art campuses across Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. The visit examined prospects for students exchange and collaborative research projects. Dr. Krawchenko said UCA was very interested in bolstering cooperation between both institutions. To him, global collaboration programmes that expose students and staff to different societal contexts and worldviews are needed now more than ever.

The Global Centre for Pluralism announced the three winners of the 2019 Global Pluralism Award: Deborah Ahenkorah, a young Ghanaian social entrepreneur and book publisher bringing African children's stories to life; the Center for Social Integrity, an organisation giving youth from conflict-affected regions in Myanmar the skills and voice to be leaders for change amidst the many overlapping conflicts ongoing in the country; and "Learning History that is not yet History", a network of history educators and specialists in the Balkans pioneering a new approach to teaching the controversial history of conflict. The three winners will each be granted $CAN50,000 and in-kind support to advance their work in promoting pluralism.