On June 22, 2024, the first ever Almaty Air Meetup was held at Aurora Space, gathering more than 50 guests.
Among the attendees were residents and visitors of the city who expressed interest in supporting the foundation, volunteering, and experts working on air pollution issues.

Panel Discussion Speakers:

Anel Moldakhmetova
Anel Moldakhmetova, Director of the Cityzen Space Foundation and co-founder of AUA Group, spoke about the creation of Kazakhstan’s first civic air quality monitoring network and the AUA Group initiative. She shared the challenges the team faced and their achievements, emphasizing the importance of civic engagement and open dialogue in solving the air quality problem.

Yevgeniy Mukhamedzhanov
Yevgeniy Mukhamedzhanov, head of the “Zhasyl Almaty” project office and founder of ECO Network, discussed current measures the city is implementing to improve air quality. He also highlighted the importance of promoting public transport.

Yerlan Buzurbaev
Yerlan Buzurbaev, partner at “KazYurConsulting,” explained the upcoming changes for Kazakhstanis with the adoption of the new atmospheric air protection law in Almaty. His speech focused on legal aspects and innovations aimed at improving the city’s ecological situation.

Azamat Abdullaev
Azamat Abdullaev, director of “Eco Almaty,” spoke about the organization’s work, highlighting key projects and initiatives aimed at improving the ecological environment in Almaty.

Interactive with Guests
To conclude the event, the AAI team held an interactive session with guests, discussing five key topics together:

  • Guests and speakers discussed, in a playful format, which forms of art most effectively draw attention to environmental issues, and proposed art project concepts to raise awareness about air pollution.
  • Participants examined the barriers preventing socially and economically vulnerable groups from participating in environmental initiatives and created an action plan to engage them.
  • They developed concepts for educational projects and innovative learning formats to increase air pollution awareness among schoolchildren.
  • They also developed a plan for implementing Low Emission Zones (LEZ) in Almaty.
  • Finally, participants explored methods for effectively communicating air quality monitoring data to the public.

The interactive session revealed numerous valuable ideas and solutions aimed at improving air quality and engaging citizens in environmental efforts.