A new Chair of the Executive Council, Ms. Aida Aidarkulova has been chosen to lead the Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan

Following an open recruitment competition held by the Board of Trustees and the Founder of the Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan (SFK), Ms. Aida Aidarkulova has been appointed as the new Chair of the Executive Council and assumed her office on April 22, 2019.

Aida joined the SFK team in 2009 as the Law Reform Program Director. From 2012 to the present, she has served as Director of Programs at Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan, being responsible for wide range of issues pertaining to all programs and activities of the foundation, such as creating an enabling environment for civic space; promoting budget transparency, social integration, human rights, and public policies, etc. Prior to joining the Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan, Aida worked at the Institute of Legal Monitoring, Expertise and Analysis, the Crisis Center for Women and Children. Aida also has a teaching experience and holds a PhD with a specialization in international law.

“I am deeply honored to head the Executive Council of the Foundation and continue working towards building an open society in Kazakhstan. I do believe in the potential of civil society in Kazakhstan and I am confident that we will continue making significant contributions to strengthening civil society. I look forward to working with the Board of Trustees, the SFK team and our partners throughout Kazakhstan in support of our Foundation’s goals and objectives,” says Aida Aidarkulova.

For the last 7 years, the position of Chair of the Executive Council has been held by Anton Artemyev, who is now assuming the role of Division Director for the Open Society’s Eurasia Program.

“On behalf of the SFK Board of Trustees, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Anton Artemyev for leading the work of the Foundation over the past seven years. During this time, new program areas have been explored and launched, in particular, such initiatives as Public Policy, Open Economy, Educational Initiative, and the Information Program. We wish both Anton and Aida success in their new assignments” says Zhuldyz Smagulova, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Soros-Kazakhstan Foundation.

Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan (SFK) is a Kazakh non-governmental charity organization established by the Open Society Institute (OSI) in 1995 to advance values of the open society in Kazakhstan. Since its inception in 1995, SFK has granted more than $80 million to implement wide range of programs such as scholarship programs to study abroad, educational programs on debating and critical thinking, arts and culture programs, and many others.