My experience participating in the Rumsfeld Fellowship Program has been a journey of discovery, genuine interest, intellectual curiosity, personal friendships and patriotism. Let me touch upon each one of these facets and how they came together to create such an impactful experience.
First, discovery. Throughout the program I discovered a great deal about how politics and policy-making happens in Washington, D.C., including the complicated and delicate balance of all the actors and pieces involved, particularly when it comes to foreign policy. While we were exposed to minds with a great wealth of knowledge on my part of the world, like Dr. S. Frederick Starr and Dr. Svante Cornell of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, we also met with a number of government representatives and other professionals who were quite unfamiliar with our region. Realizing this, it increasingly became an important personal goal of my program participation, and of many of my colleagues, to shed light on the strategic importance of our region not only to the West but to all major actors in world affairs. Given the dynamics of today’s ever-changing geopolitics, the significance of country-to-country relations is rising and will likely continue to grow. While some moderate levels of engagement were reached in the early years of the independence of our countries in the 1990s, it seems that both Central Asia and the United States could have benefited from more long-term strategic partnerships, with a more balanced focus on reforms in good governance, professional public service, assisting with quality infrastructure, etc., along with the more pronounced pressures on democratic reforms, human rights and political systems (which I would confess may have been too difficult an initial lift for our nascent political systems). Looking forward, we are hopeful that the relationships underway today between our countries and the West are more meaningful, lasting and mutually-beneficial than ever before.
Second, genuine interest. For six weeks, we met with policy makers and practitioners, ambassadors, academic scholars and business executives, from the likes of a former U.S. National Security Advisor, to other top foreign policy experts and defense executives. We were delighted, and albeit somewhat surprised, to meet a number of accomplished leaders, both in government and the corporate world, who were genuinely interested in the CAMCA region, in its overall prosperity and, especially, its emerging leaders. This sentiment was first and foremost embodied by Secretary Rumsfeld. At the welcome lunch he hosted for our group, I had the opportunity to ask him what his hope was when he launched the program. He shared with me and my colleagues that initially he aspired to familiarize those on Capitol Hill and across Washington, D.C. with the CAMCA region, which he felt had been receiving insufficient U.S. attention. He then shared that what he came to realize a few years into the program was that a secondary, and perhaps more important, result was that the Fellowship Program had contributed to reconnecting the CAMCA countries themselves through the relationships developed by the cohorts of young, motivated participants. And as a most recent Fellow, I can confirm the validity and significance of this.
Third is intellectual curiosity. Throughout the program I often found myself wondering what really makes America tick. Our friendly and open conversations during meetings allowed us to pose candid questions about the U.S. government and the current administration, questions on the minds of so many watching the United States from overseas. What struck me from this experience was the openness of debate on the current integrity of the pillars of American democracy – the rule of law, public service and other essential institutions, which we found to be a growing concern for many leaders we met with. That being said, much of this questioning was also matched with an unwavering confidence in the checks and balances across nearly all American institutions to maintain the nation’s proper course.
Fourth is personal friendship. I would argue that this is the most important benefit from the program that each Fellow can gain. I remember inquiring at one point to the program staff about why the program was six weeks long, a significant amount of time to be away from family and work. Their reply: the longer the program, the deeper the bonds. Indeed, aside from the required program travel, I spent most of my weekends exploring the “real” America outside of D.C. by road tripping and creating lasting memories with the other Fellows. One of these such weekends, I found myself driving a rental car with 5 Fellows from Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, singing our favorite songs in unison en route to Philadelphia and later running up the Rocky steps doing our best impressions of the famous movie scene. Other times when the entire group was traveling together, we, 12 Fellows from all 10 CAMCA countries, found ourselves exploring the city of Chicago and laughing about each other’s formal introductions which we had by then learned by heart. These moments became part of real friendships that I believe will last and continue to grow over the years.
With regards to my favorite meeting, it was hard to top my lunch with Secretary Rumsfeld. During lunch, the Fellows’ questions naturally steered toward the tracks of politics and foreign policy. But, as his sense of humor, as well as a clear deep admiration for his wife, Joyce, unfolded over lunch, I decided to pose a personal question: “They say ‘behind every great man there is a great woman.’ So, how did you manage to make the right choice when it came to marriage?” He smiled, paused for a moment and then said, “You should look at her mother!” He then proceeded to reminisce about what a delightful woman Joyce’s mother had been and the impact she had had on Joyce. Funnily enough, his advice was not far off from the traditional Kazakh customs and adages that I grew up with at home.
This brings me to my final point, which is patriotism. What I really noticed in my colleagues was a passion for improving their communities and the lives of everyday people within them, and enabling their fellow countrymen to strive for excellence. This, above all, was a true indication of the leadership they possessed. Needless to say, it was inspiring. For instance, when I shared conversations with my program housemate, and now dear friend, from Afghanistan, I learned how close we were culturally, socially and mentally. Yet the historical linkages between Central Asia and Afghanistan that had connected our ancestors had deteriorated in the 20th century, much to our disadvantage. I was able to dispel any preconceived notions and learn how normal Afghan people go about their lives, support each other, dream and hope, despite their conflicts, as well as learn how my friend was making a real difference in his country to stop violence, restore justice and promote peace through his work. His story and the experiences of my colleagues from places like Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Armenia really opened my eyes to all we could learn from one another despite our perceived differences.
As a patriot of my country, Kazakhstan, I have always believed that a more prosperous region allows for a more prosperous Kazakhstan. I believe in the importance of regional connectivity among the CAMCA countries and see true value in working together to overcome the common challenges our societies face. With this belief in tow, I have previously worked for the United Nations Development Programme in Kazakhstan leading the Regional Hub of Civil Service team in Astana to bring together representatives from all CAMCA countries for peer-to-peer learning of good governance practices. The program’s success was encouraging for continued regional efforts and partnership, which will undoubtedly play an important role in the long-term socio-economic success of the region.
Our Spring 2018 Fellows even took our own hack at beginning to solve a key inhibitor of regional connectivity among the CAMCA countries ̶ a lack of information sharing about business and research opportunities available in each of our countries. In order to bridge this gap, we dedicated our group project and presentation on issues of digital integration. We contemplated ways to effectively connect our countries through establishing an online platform and hope to make progress on this initiative in the year ahead.
Today I run the first homegrown Kazakh management consulting firm – Center for Strategic Initiatives (www.csi.kz). The firm’s founding principle is that in our community we now have enough talented, local individuals with world-class expertise and education who can provide world-class solutions for our government and private sector. Our competitive edge is our knowledge of the local context which so many foreign firms often lack. I’m pleased to see this concept of local consultancy is taking hold in other CAMCA countries as well, lending itself to opportunities for natural partnership. I am convinced that business projects like these will lead to more resilient, financially sound and mutually beneficial partnerships based on trust and that real regional connectivity will undoubtedly arise from these connections and initiatives. Therefore, connecting with other rising leaders from across the region through the Fellowship Program was highly valuable for me, as it laid the foundation for trust and confidence amongst one another. I can say without hesitation that the seeds of joint projects and business ventures have been sown and that they will be fruitful for our region.
While it was hard to part with my colleagues at the completion of the program this May, I look forward to discussing these ideas and more at the upcoming 2018 CAMCA Regional Forum in Baku, where my Fellow program participants and the entire alumni cohort will gather to make progress toward regional connectivity. It is sure to be a productive and inspiring weekend for all in attendance.
See you in Baku!
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Yernar Zharkeshov participated in the Rumsfeld Foundation's Central Asia-Caucasus Fellowship Program in Spring 2018. He currently works as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner at the Center for Strategic Initiatives in Kazakhstan.