Launched in 2008, the CAMCA Fellowship is a joint program of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at the American Foreign Policy Council and the Rumsfeld Foundation. It brings exceptional rising leaders from Central Asia, Mongolia, the Caucasus and Afghanistan (CAMCA) to the United States for a high-level, intensive exchange experience designed to forge enduring personal and professional connections among its talented participants. The Fellowship aims to encourage intraregional cooperation among the program countries as well as to foster stronger relations between the U.S. and the CAMCA region, and serves as a starting point for continued dialogue and collaboration among the innovative regional leaders that comprise the program’s alumni network.
As participants of the 28th Fellowship session, the Spring 2024 group will join the program’s growing alumni network of 277 former Fellows.
Throughout their six-week program, Fellows will attend a series of private high-level meetings with top policy-makers, business leaders, journalists, academics, military personnel and regional experts, exposing them to inside perspectives on how opinion-making, decision-making and policy-making processes work in the U.S. The group will also spend a week traveling to Norfolk and Williamsburg, Virginia, experiencing American history and cultural life beyond the nation's capital. In addition to group meetings, program staff will assist Fellows in arranging individual meetings relevant to their independent interests as well as provide opportunities for professional development and networking. The Fellows will also participate in a group presentation at a Central Asia-Caucasus Institute public forum where they will engage with representatives from local embassies, businesses, universities, the media and others interested in current perspectives from the region.
The Spring 2024 Fellows consist of a diverse group of talented regional leaders, pictured left to right below, and with their full bios found here. 
Mr. Karlen Aslanyan – Armenia – Senior Multimedia Journalist and Broadcaster at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Armenian Service
Ms. Zhala Azizova – Azerbaijan – Head of Corporate Communications and PR at Veyseloglu Group of Companies, a consumer goods company
Ms. Diana Charyyeva – Turkmenistan – Project Manager at the International Organization for Migration
Mr. Azizbek Kurbonov – Uzbekistan – Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Sug‘urta Bozor, an insurTech company
Ms. Byambakhand Luguusharav – Mongolia – Policy Director of EuroChamber Mongolia
Ms. Metra Mehran – Afghanistan – Gender and Policy Advisor for the Strategic Litigation Project at the Atlantic Council
Dr. Mohbonu Nakhatzoda – Tajikistan – National Coordinator at the Erasmus+ Tajikistan Office
Mr. Abaceen Nasimi – Afghanistan – Founder and Executive Director of Duran Research and Analysis, a research and political risk analysis firm
Ms. Maia Omiadze – Georgia – Head of the Georgian National Tourism Administration
Mr. Tilek Toktogaziev – Kyrgyzstan – Chairman of the Association of Berry Growers of the Kyrgyz Republic
Mr. Sanzhar Zhamalov – Kazakhstan – Head of the Representative Office of ING Bank N.V.
To learn more about the CAMCA Fellowship Program please visit our CAMCA Fellowship page.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Sarah C. Tonucci
Executive Director, Rumsfeld Foundation
1100 17th Street NW, #402
Washington, D.C. 20036
Tel: (202) 944-1304
E-mail: sarah@rumsfeldfoundation.org
David Soumbadze
Director, CAMCA Fellowship Program
509 C Street NE
Washington, D.C. 20002
Tel: (301) 257-5753
E-mail: soumbadze@afpc.org