YCCAF Bishkek

From 16 to 20 April 2025, Compass College hosted the closing stage of the Young Creators of Central Asia 2025 project (YCCAF 2025). The event was the culmination of work that began with a Kyrgyz delegation travelling to Tashkent in February and continued with two months of creative business training on an online platform. In April, Kyrgyzstan welcomed a 15-strong delegation from Uzbekistan.

The forum brought together young creators, entrepreneurs and representatives of the creative industries from both countries. Twelve participants from each side formed six international teams to develop and present joint projects, share experience and strengthen ties in creative entrepreneurship.

The programme opened with a cultural immersion: on 17 and 18 April participants travelled to Issyk-Kul. The official opening was held at the Museum of Nomadic Civilisations. The delegation also visited the Rukh Ordo cultural complex, the open-air Petroglyphs museum and the Saimaluu-Tash monument, and took a boat trip on the lake.

On 19 April the delegation visited Compass College, learned about its programmes and went on to Oak Park, the Gapar Aitiev Museum of Fine Arts and the Ololo Planet creative space. The day ended with dinner at the Supara ethno-complex.

20 April was the main day of the forum. Six international teams presented their projects along with prototypes. The winners were team Oymonom (1st place), team Parma (2nd place) and team Tarilyuk (3rd place). The forum closed with an awards ceremony.

The project is delivered through a tandem partnership between Compass College and the Republican College of Design and Arts (RIDM, Tashkent), with the support of the regional project ‘Vocational Education for Sectors of Economic Growth in Central Asia’, implemented by GIZ.