🎤 On June 23rd, YPIP participants attended a professional development session with Tamilla Kurbanova, Co-Founder and CEO at Twelve Stars Capital. Tamilla Kurbanova is a FLEX 2001 alumna and a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Tamilla has ten years of experience in banking on Wall Street and Dubai, having worked for Morgan Stanley, UBS and Julius Baer. After almost 20 years abroad, Tamilla returned to Uzbekistan and is currently working to attract investments into Uzbekistan.

⚡️Tamilla delivered a session entitled "Personal Financial Planning", focused on financial planning and strategies and how to assess risk when it comes to personal finance.

🇺🇸Young Professional Internships Program (YPIP) is funded by the US Embassy Tashkent and implemented by American Councils for International Education.

From June 23-25, the US Embassy in partnership with American Councils for International Education hosted 50 young people from various regions of Uzbekistan at the 2nd annual Uzbekistan Youth Leadership Conference.

ℹ️ Originally held in 2021, the Uzbekistan Youth Leadership Conference (UzYLC) was organized to bring young leaders together to collaborate on social projects designed to improve their communities. During the three-day conference, participants learned about project management, design and implementation from American trainers, alumni of U.S. government programs, and Fulbright English Teaching Assistants. The participants also had the chance to hone their leadership skills through experiential teambuilding activities.

🎉Congratulations to all of the UzYLC 2023 participants! We look forward to see what exciting projects you undertake in your communities!

🇺🇸 Uzbekistan Youth Leadership Conference is funded by the US Embassy Tashkent and implemented by American Councils for International Education.

Rhonda Shrader, the Executive Director of the University of California Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Program and the National Science Foundation's I-Corps program for the Bay Area Node, visited Tashkent on July 7th.  Dr. Shrader conducted  a professional development session for the Young Professional Internship (YPIP) participants and presented at the American Center Tashkent

✅ Drawing from her extensive experience as an entrepreneur and early-stage business founder in various fields such as biotech, behavioral health, retail, the non-profit sector, and AI; Rhonda emphasized the potential of lean canvas startup principles as potential drivers for YPIP participants’ future careers and entrepreneurial ventures.

⚡️ Rhonda discussed how the lean canvas model can bring about positive changes in participants' careers and with their own potential startup projects. She explained that by using lean canvas methods, entrepreneurs can more efficiently develop and launch their ideas, products, or services  in smaller succinct steps. Rhonda emphasized the importance of trying out new things, collecting customers research, and making changes quickly to improve business strategies. By doing so, she said, participants can increase their chances of long-term success and steady growth.

Young Professional Internships Program (YPIP) is funded by the US Embassy Tashkent and implemented by American Councils for International Education.

YPIP Participants Learn About Corporate Social Responsibility with Malika Sharipova

🎤 On July 14th, YPIP participants attended a professional development session with Malika Sharipova, a Director and Founder of CARE CSR.

⚡️During the session, Malika provided valuable insights and expertise. She emphasized the importance of responsible practices, transparency, and accountability in all aspects of business operations. The session provided YPIP participants with a deeper understanding of CSR and its role in creating a positive impact on society and the environment. By sharing her knowledge and experiences, Ms. Sharipova inspired the participants to consider the broader implications of their professional endeavors and encouraged them to incorporate responsible practices into their own work.

Young Professional Internships Program (YPIP) is funded by the US Embassy Tashkent and implemented by American Councils for International Education.

American Councils and the Open World Program Continue to Build Mutual Partnership through Exchange in Uzbekistan 🇺🇸🇺🇿

On July 10, 2023, Tim and Elizabeth Thorson of Cheyenne, Wyoming visited Uzbekistan as reciprocal guests of a recent parliamentary delegation that they had hosted. Traveling to Central Asia for the first time, Tim and Elizabeth were warmly welcomed in Tashkent and had the opportunity to explore the history and culture of Uzbekistan by visiting the ancient Silk Road cities of Bukhara and Samarkand.

Earlier in February 2023, a delegation from the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis traveled to Cheyenne, Wyoming via the Open World Program, which is funded by the US Congress and operated by the Congressional Office for International Leadership. During that visit, the Thorsons hosted several of the delegates in their home and introduced them to the history and culture of the American West as well as facilitated several local government to government exchanges at the Wyoming statehouse.