Professor Elena KorostelevaLink opens in a new window and Dr Aijan SharshenovaLink opens in a new window, SHAPEDEM-EULink opens in a new window team at the University of Warwick, participated in the 2nd Annual Progress Meeting of the SHAPEDEM-EU Consortium. Professor Korosteleva reported on the progress of the deliverables under the Working Package 2 "Democratic practices and democracy support in the Eastern Neighbourhood and discussed prospects of future collaborations with the consortium members.

SHAPEDEM-EULink opens in a new window is a consortium of 12 research, policy and civil society institutions set out to rethink, reshape, and review the EU’s democracy promotion policies, while elaborating and pilot testing a novel model of a Democracy Learning Loop. The project is funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe funding framework.

Dr. Aijan SharshenovaLink opens in a new window, SHAPEDEM-EULink opens in a new window research fellow, started a month-long in-residence visiting fellowship at the Eureast Platform at the University of Ghent. The EureastLink opens in a new window Platform engages in academic collaboration with academics from Eastern Europe and Eureasia. Aijan will present her ongoing work on academic positionality, self-censorship and resilience in Central Asia.

Research Fellow Dr. Aijan SharshenovaLink opens in a new window (SHAPEDEM-EU ProjectLink opens in a new window) completed a 13 week-long gender equality training course at the University of Central Asia. The School for the Advancement of Gender EqualityLink opens in a new window provided an extensive theoretical and practical training on gender equality and advocacy for women-led organisations, civil society activists, journalists and bloggers. Dr. Sharshenova was awarded qualification of a specialist in gender equality advocacy.