Teach Someone - Give Them a Future!    IV Festival of Education, with a focus on   “Ecology and Health”       The IV Festival of Education took place on April 22nd and April 23rd.   The first day of the Festival (this year focusing on the themes of “Ecology and Human Health”) took place at the I.K. Akhunbayev Kyrgyz National Medical Academy (KMNA).   Several well-known figures participated in the Opening Ceremony of the Festival, including ex-President and founder of the International Public Fund “Roza Otunbayeva’s Initiative” Roza Otunbayeva, First Lady Raisa Atambaeva, Bishkek Vice-Mayor Aigul Riskulova, I.K. Akhunbayev KNMA representatives, as well as representatives of various other social, governmental, and international groups, and schoolchildren from across the city.   Throughout the course of the first day of the Festival teachers and students from KNMA acquainted students and Bishkek natives with the university on a number of departmental excursions, which also included trips to laboratories, lectures, presentations, and visual demonstrations. Every guest of the Festival was given the opportunity to visit the Museum of Plasticization (the only one of its kind in Central Asia) and the Museum of Anatomy, exhibitions on the two campuses of the university, a number of workshops that included a presentation of the new “Ecologic” board game by guests from Saint Petersburg, and lectures and presentations for teachers at the “Kyrgyz Kinocy” movie theater. In addition to these events, an excursion for schoolchildren, called “A Day in the Life of the Medical Center,” was conducted in the KNMA Medical Center.   At the same time, guests of the Festival took part in presentations as part of the second annual “Green Dialogue,” where in experts talked about the largest issues in the fields of ecology and health. After the presentations, winners of the Skits Competition took the stage to show off their acts.   Afterwards, the best teams from the Skit Competition, Eco-Wall Schools and Open Competitions, and the Eco-Posters were given their awards, and the first day of the Festival was rounded off with an inter-college stand-up presentation with the theme of “What is An Active Citizen?”   April 23rd, the second day of the Festival, was opened by ex-President and founder of the International Public Fund “Roza Otunbayeva’s Initiative” Roza Otunbayeva, Bishkek City Mayor Albek Ibrayimov, Minister of Education and Science Elvira Sarieva, head of the Aga-Khan Development Organization Kassim Shamsh, as well as representatives from various social, governmental,, and international organizations.   Next, Kyrgyz athletes who had qualified for the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro were honored with a standing ovation.   On the second day, April 23rd, the Festival took place in the area around the monument to Kurmanjan Datka in the Oak Park, as well as at the Ch. Aitmatov Russian Dramaturgical Theater and the “Seitek” National Center for Children and Youth.   Seven interactive workshops were run all over the Festival, where guests could join in on activities and find something interesting. These classes included: “Book Fair,” Bilembek’s Fairy Tale Laboratory,” “Sports Class,” “Dance Class,” “Acting Class,” and “Exhibition Fair” (which included the Educational Resources Fair, Charity Fair, “Flower Heaven” Flower Fair, and an Eco-Market). Free fairy tale storytelling and plays took place at the Ch. Aitmatov Russian Dramaturgical Theater and the “Seitek” National Center for Children and Youth.   Over the course of the day, guests of the Festival could: enjoy live music by the best musicans of the Kyrgyz Republic, listen to presentations by youth educational centers, and participate in the group-dance classes at the evening Open-Air Latino Party (“Rio Social Dance School”). The Festival was closed by a flash mob from the “Peer Education Network Y-Peer” group.   In total, over 18,000 people visited the Festival of Education over the two days, with more than 130 organizations, as well as more than 200 volunteers, taking part.   The 2016 Festival of Education was organized by the International Public Fund “Roza Otunbayeva’s Initiative,” with the help of the Bishkek Town Hall and the I.K. Akhunayeva KNMA, along with the support of the Christensen Fund, the Aga-Khan Development Network, the KICB, MES KG, MCT KG, NAEP KR, the “Kyrgyz Kinocy” movie theater, the “Shoro” company, the “Show Time” studio, OF “Kochmon,” the “Rio Social Dance School,” the “PRO AIR” studio, the “Media LAB” production studio, the “SO Mediagroup,” and Café “Bavarius.”.    Informational support for the Festival was provided by a number of sources, including: Channel 5, EITR, Tumar TV, Maral Radio, Radio Azattik, Kyrgyz Radio, First Radio, Radio Europe+, Radio Tumar, Auto Radio Kyrgyzstan, zanoza.kg, akipress.kg, sputnik.kg, kloop.kg, vb.kg, limon.kg, Nightly Bishkek, New Faces Newspaper, Til Jana Madaniyat Newspaper, and Kutbilim.   Video of the Festival from a bird’s-eye view, from “Pro Air.”