The Go Viral Festival was successfully held amid the magnificent mountains of Karakol. Thesubjectdedicatedtothe tourism development and promotion was a perfect match to the region with its unique nature and cultural heritage. Participantsjointlywithtrailblazersandexpertsdiscussedthesubject through the prism of traditional spheres of the festival: media, business, culture and technology.
Nearly 300 people took part in the event, mainly local young people striving for self-development and transformation of the world around us. The event programme was quite intensive: participants studied contemporary methods of business promotion and personal branding on social media; local entrepreneurs shared their experiences of doing creative business effectively. One of the most vivid fragments of the festival was the inspiring session with Dr. Camille Wardrop Alleyne, ex-scientist of NASA, founder and CEO of Arusha Space.
Creativity and knowledge of people – the biggest potential of economy
The United States Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, LesslieViguerie, opened the Go Viral Festival. He noted that the biggest potential of the Kyrgyz economy is creativity, knowledge and resourcefulness of the people.
“Karakol, a town known for its craftsmanship, craftwork, and dynamic tourism, has a big potential for growth. Development of the digital and creative sectors can promote formation of new jobs, increase exports from Kyrgyzstan, and attract foreign investments. The United States will continue to support you and the Kyrgyz Republic to take the digital and creative national economy to even higher levels,” the ambassador said.
Afterwards, the conversation turned into the casual style dialogue. In this relaxed and friendly format, participants not only asked serious questions, but also asked Mr.Viguerie to sing, tell about his children, favourite books, his favourite dish in the Kyrgyz cuisine, his failures. In addition to personal questions, the young people asked about global issues: ecology, development of green economy, the role of volunteerism, education in the USA, STEM development, as well as enhancement of relations between Kyrgyzstan and the United States.
Answering the questions of the festival participants, LesslieViguerie emphasised that the key to the tremendous world is education and knowledge of the English language, given that 70 per cent of the global content is created in English.
He also noted that American corners, which successfully function across the country, including Karakol, could provide resources and inspiration for learning English, as well as opportunities for receiving a degree in the United States.
It is important to find your passion and follow it
A little girl lived in a small country of Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. She liked to dismantle and fix all electronic devices in her house, and enjoyed mathematics. She was suggested to become a teacher or a nurse, just like many other girls. Butthe girl did not give up her dream – an opportunity to create aircrafts. So, today she is an experienced American CEO in the aerospace industry, entrepreneur and aerospace engineer, known for her contribution to space research and STEM education. Her name is Dr. Camille Wardrop Alleyne. She started her speech in Karakol with an inspiring phrase, “It’s hard to believe but I could do it, and you can.”
After successful career in NASA, Camille became an entrepreneur. She admitted that it was harder than to explore the space. Now Camille’s company works with satellite images, helping in solving the global challenges – from climate change to agricultural challenges. Camille is actively supporting participation of women and girls in science and engineering.
She shared the valuable lessons of her journey that started in a small town and led to big stars.
“It is important to find and follow your passion, important to cling to your goal. Many people may not believe in what you believe. It is important that you believe that you can reach your goal. I have had many mentors, and it is very important to find the people who can help you reach your goals and believe in yourselves,” Camille said.
She also urged the young people to be who they are, be brave, leave their comfort zone, and do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. The participants were inspired by the story of Dr. Camille Wardrop Alleyne. Some of them visited the festival with the intention to meet with her and admitted they could not believe they saw the famous scientist in person. Students could get answers to their questions about the profession of an engineer, career in NASA, and opportunities in the world of science.
Business is not about money, it is philosophy and creativity
The key message of entrepreneur speakers was universal and sounded like this: the philosophy of self-searching, one’s own product and one’s way is important. In business, it is not only about money; it is also about adding value, contributing to the society, and developing personal potential. This understanding helps create products and services that resonate with the people and turn every idea into something significant and viable.
The session by Sabina Temiralieva, founder of the ‘Makaronnaya’, caused a furore. The hall was overcrowded: half of the audience came to see her and get inspired by a successful business story, where Sabina managed to expand her business by entering the market of neighbouring Kazakhstan. The other half of the audience came to ask specific questions to the speaker. These were young people who wanted to open their businesses or took first steps in business.
Sabina shared the secrets of business marketing and product promotion via social media. She advised to train one’s observation, e.g., by following 4-5 individuals or brands, which inspire you. Andtorepeattheirmarketingmethods, creativeapproaches. When a person has a developed observation skill, he/she will start seeing useful ideas everywhere: in books, films, and even outdoors, which can help find answers and new ideas for one’s business.
According to Sabina, marketing changes all the time: what is relevant today can become ineffective tomorrow. It is important to seize the moments intuitively and to get adapted quickly. She also emphasised the significance of cooperation with bloggers for novice entrepreneurs as it promoted the trust and raised brand awareness. Another marketing ploy emphasised by Sabina was hyping around the product via limited issues, exclusive offers or intriguing teaser ads drawing attention or causing discussions among consumers.
“We have a marketing department, it is not a digital department. It can hardly be digitalised. Marketing is more about airiness, creativity, spirituality, psychology. Everythingissoairy. And such airy methods help solve the issues,” the founder of ‘Makaronnaya’ shared her vision.
Meanwhile, no matter how many powerful marketing tools are used by an entrepreneur and how much he/she invested in advertising and promotion, there will be no development without a quality product, said Sabina Temiralieva. And all speakers shared this thought with participants during the panel discussion ‘Creative industry: Entrepreneurship in Karakol.’
“Ashar” will beused to open the cultural digital hub in Karakol
“Ashar” means the Kyrgyz form of fundraising, when a community solves any problem or builds anything by joint efforts. The method is successfully used in social entrepreneurship by local entrepreneur AkhmetMakaev, founder of guesthouse Hillside Karakol. He is also the co-founder and ideological inspirer of the project ‘Dem’. His main principle is that business must be socially responsible and benefit the local community.
“Dem” is the first socially creative library in Kyrgyzstan, built by the ‘ashar’ method. Using the forces and funds of regular citizens, a unique space attracting young people was created in an abandoned basement. It contains 4,000 books, has a reading room, coffee house, and creative atmosphere. Hundreds of events take place here every year.
The next step is opening of the ‘DigiYurt’, the digital cultural hub. According to Akhmet, Karakol is visited by many tourists, including digital nomads – IT specialists and freelancers, who do not have enough space for their work. The hub will solve the problem. The centre will be used not only as a co-working space, but also for IT courses, access to international libraries, a platform for the unique culture of the Kyrgyz people. The project value was 100 thousand dollars, 20 per cent of which were found.
“Now we want to turn ‘Ashar’ into the app. It will ensure transparency, mobility and involvement – conditions dictated by the digital world. Ashar is not only about raising money from all over the world, but an opportunity to share one’s time, love and energy,” Akhmet said.
“One village One product”. Kyrgyz experiences spread throughout Central Asia.
“One village – one product” is the national economic project in Kyrgyzstan. It helps domestic entrepreneurs produce quality certified products from local resources only. According to the Ministry of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic, local entrepreneurs, mainly women, made 167 export contracts for the total amount of nearly 238 million Kyrgyz som due to the project in 2023. They produce and sell such goods as honey, natural juices and jams, felt articles, etc.
Kyrgyzstan adopted this experience from Japan. The project started in Issyk-Kul region and covered the whole country. Noweveryregionhasitsownbrand. The successful business modelling reaches the new stage – to maintain sustainability and increase profits.
According to NargizaErkinbaeva, general director of the association ‘One village – one product’, they started to introduce the model in other Central Asian states.
Rural kid can conquerthe world fashion industry
TilekSaparbaev at the age of 28 earned his first million dollars experimenting in various spheres of business. Today Tilek is the founder of ‘Green’ clothing factory and the owner of several companies that sell sewing equipment and provide services to famous Russian brands and top sellers on WB.
He shared a good news with the participants: his company sent the first batch of clothing to New York. The key message of the entrepreneur was: find yourself before you look for big money. Tilek also urged the young people to be simple and eco-friendly because it is trending both in life and in business. His story inspired the participants because he could conquer the fashion industry even coming from a remote village.
Online channel sales
The session by Nazira Miynekeeva was relevant for Karakol with many guesthouses. Being an hotelier, she spoke about online sales in the hospitality industry.
Nazira shared the strategies that helped her and other entrepreneurs in the industry increase sales and attract more tourists. Her speech was a complete guide on how to create successful online business in the sphere of tourism.
The musical performance and gifts were a nice end to the day after such intensive sessions and inspirational talks. The most active participants who covered the festival in the most interesting way on social media received Go Viral merchandise.
According to KhurshidaRasokhan, ambassador of Go Viral to Kyrgyzstan, the festival went beyond all expectations of the organisers.
“We saw that the subject of tourism and creative industry always remains important for Karakol. Becausethistownistheuniquetravellingdestination. We are proud that our festival contributed to cooperation between the cultures and sectors. This diversity and openness to new ideas give rise to the most successful projects and initiatives,” she said.
The Go Viral Festival & Network is the annual regional festival and platform for networking and creation of the community of representatives of media, business, culture and technologies in Central Asian states. The project is funded by the United States Department of State and supported by the U.S. Diplomatic Missions in Central Asian states.
The Institute for War&Peace Reporting (IWPR) in Central Asia has implemented the project since October 2021.