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Public Lecture on Diaspora Online, Transnationalism and Political Participation

29 September, 2022

On 27 September 2022, Dr. Ajar Chekirova, Associate Research Fellow at the OSCE Academy, delivered a public lecture on "Kyrgyz Diaspora Online: Understanding New Forms of Transnationalism, Citizenship, and Political Participation." Dr. Chekirova defined the terms "Diaspora," "political participation," and "transnational citizenship." Furthermore, the researcher shared her findings on the differences in political engagement among migrants from different host regions (including Russia, the US, the EU, and countries in the Middle East) across Social Media platforms. Dr. Chekirova analyzed textual data from Kyrgyz migrants’ virtual communities and groups on Facebook, VK, Odnoklassniki, and the websites over the May 2020 – October 2021 timeframe. According to the study, during a socioeconomic crisis in the homeland, the online activity of migrants increases rapidly. During the pandemic, October revolution, and Kyrgyz-Tajik border conflict migrants were involved in intense transnational cross-channel political engagement that went beyond simple comments, “likes” and “shares” and spilled over real world.

Research paper on "Kyrgyz Diaspora Online: Understanding Political Participation and Transnational Citizenship" is available here.

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