Rafis Abazov
Published on 1 October 2025
The Green Week programme at KazNARU spotlighted the South-South educational collaboration with the launch of Biochar and SmartAgri, a collaborative publication featuring research from Pakistan’s NUST and Quaid-i-Azam University. A subsequent roundtable on the “Sustainability Discourse of Almaty Universities” brought together representatives from all major universities in Almaty, such as KBTU, KIMEP, Abai University, and KazNARU to exchange best practices in SDG-focused education and institutional reform. During the discussions, participants also debated the need to shift the educational paradigm in response to the growing impact of artificial intelligence on learning, research, and university management.
The opening ceremony featured keynote addresses from Dr. Rafis Abazov, Vice-Rector for International Relations and Director of the Institute of Green and Sustainable Development at KazNARU, and Vlastimil Samek, Representative of the United Nations Department of Global Communications. Dr. Abazov underscored the university’s role as a catalyst for sustainability dialogue, stating, “Our commitment to the SDGs is not just academic—it is a call to action for the entire agricultural sector to embrace resilience, equity, and ecological stewardship.”
Mr. Samek echoed the sentiment, highlighting the global relevance of local leadership: “Kazakhstan’s convening of Green Week 2025 exemplifies how regional institutions can drive global progress. The UN stands ready to support initiatives that translate SDG principles into tangible outcomes for communities and ecosystems.”
Green Week 2025 has attracted participation from key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IOFS, ICESCO, UNEP, FAO, and Erasmus Kazakhstan. The event’s hybrid format ensures broad accessibility, enabling engagement from across Central Asia and beyond. Workshops, youth-led initiatives, hackathons, and strategic planning sessions throughout the week aim to embed sustainability principles into agricultural policy, curriculum design, and innovation ecosystems.
The forum also marks a pivotal moment in regional cooperation, with new partnerships emerging among universities, government bodies, and international organizations. Delegates discussed various success stories, such as “green campus”, “Monday against plastic”, and the concept of “digital campus” and emphasized youth empowerment, digital and AI transformation, and climate-smart agriculture as foundational pillars for long-term impact.
The opening ceremony set a collaborative tone for the week ahead, reinforcing KazNARU’s strategic vision to position Kazakhstan at the forefront of global sustainability discourse in higher education and agricultural development.
