On 25 & 26 June 2024, the EUNIC regional focus meeting for Central Asia and the Caucasus brought together representatives from the 5 clusters in the regions: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as well as colleagues from Turkmenistan currently working on a project supported by European Spaces of Culture. The meeting was hosted by Goethe-Institut Kasachstan in Almaty.

Over two days, the seminar offered participants the opportunity to get to know and learn from each other, share experiences and challenges of working in the framework of EUNIC clusters (and beyond) and how to strengthen relationships with the EU, to explore current developments in the region and common topics of interest as well as opportunities for future collaboration. The programme was created in close exchange with and based on wishes for specific content expressed by participants in advance.

Learning about the different realities and exploring shared relevant topics in the region, colleagues exchanged around questions of gender equality. In light of the upcoming COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024, participants also shared insights into the relevance of the topic of climate change in their contexts and work. The role of civil society in rapidly changing geopolitical contexts and shrinking public spaces across the regions was also discussed, as well as ways of supporting democractic movements. Potential dilemmas when collaborating internationally around these topics were discussed using EUNIC's Not a toolkit! Fair collaboration in cultural relations. Following this, participants reflected on how such globally relevant topics can be addressed by the EUNIC network more widely in a strategic and longer-term approach, both at international as well as local level using different avenues.

The meeting was also an opportunity for participants to learn more about the wider EUNIC network, other opportunities to get involved with programme activities, and about ongoing and upcoming funding opportunities such as European Spaces of Culture and the EUNIC Cluster Fund. Good practices of operating as EUNIC cluster and common challenges in collaborating internationally were shared. Guest interventions on recent EUNIC projects by EUNIC clusters in Mongolia and Thailand as well as European Spaces of Culture projects in China and Turkmenistan allowed participants to explore the vast possibilities of cultural relations activities around the world and to learn from colleagues across the network. In curated speed dating sessions, colleagues also had the opportunity to learn more about each other's realities and challenges in depth and were given the time to exchange on priority topics and activities bilaterally.

Significant time was also dedicated to understanding EUNIC’s relationship with the EU and possibilities of collaborating with EU Delegations on the ground. Additional insights on geopolitical strategies and regional funding opportunities were given in online interventions by colleagues from the European Commission in Brussels, respectively DG INTPA and DG NEAR.

Finally, colleagues also had the possibility to exchange with key local cultural actors and civil society representatives during an evening visit of a cultural venue central to the current European Spaces of Culture project ‘Dybys’. Discussions centered around the partners’ strong expertise on gender equality and climate activism, and the encounter allowed both participants to learn more about the partners of the project and local partners to hear more about EUNIC.