Exec Ed alum links Syracuse’s disability rights work with Uzbekistan
A Maxwell School doctoral
student appeared on Uzbek national television to discuss his research on people
with disabilities. He also highlighted Syracuse’s Disability Rights Clinic (DRC)
at an international webinar advocating for the rights of people with
disabilities in his native Uzbekistan.
Mirjakhon Turdiev, a
member of the International Board of Experts at the Republic of Uzbekistan’s El-Yurt
Umidi Foundation, current social science
Ph.D. candidate, and former Humphrey fellow at Maxwell, spoke at the September 16 webinar,
“Opportunities in applying the experience of the prestigious U.S. university in
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities in Uzbekistan.”
At Syracuse University,
“I am truly impressed by how the academic and research environment for the
persons with disabilities is advanced and promising for replication in
Uzbekistan,” Turdiev said. “A rights-based approach to persons with
disabilities and disability understanding in general is something I planned to
export to Uzbekistan.”
Michael Schwartz,
director of Syracuse’s DRC, also addressed the September webinar, which drew
more than 300 viewers and national news coverage. The DRC is part of the Office
of Clinical Legal Education at Syracuse’s College of Law, where Schwartz teaches
disability law.
As a result of the successful
exchange, Syracuse University, Tashkent State University of Law, El-Yurt Umidi
Foundation, and the Academy under the General Prosecutor of Uzbekistan are
exploring an MOU for partnership on establishing a Disability Rights Clinic in
Uzbekistan.
Turdiev’s presentations
highlight Maxwell’s ongoing Central Asian initiatives and partnerships with Maxwell’s
Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC) Research Group and Executive Education
office. The international webinar was organized by the El-Yurt Umidi
Foundation, with whom the Maxwell School signed an MOU in 2018 to expand
cooperative programs that allow Uzbek students to intern and study public
administration at the Maxwell School.
During his 2014-2015 Humphrey Fellowship
at Maxwell, Turdiev focused on partnerships between academics and disability organizations, and advocacy
and inclusion of people with disabilities in policy development. In 2016, he
earned an Executive Master of Public Administration from Maxwell and in 2020
completed a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) on Disability Studies from
SU’s School of Education. He is currently the student coordinator for Maxwell’s
Central Asia and the Caucasus (CAC) Research Group and the president of SU’s
Central Asia and Caucasus Student Union (CACSU).
Previously Turdiev
served as a consultant on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for United
Nations Development Programme Uzbekistan, where he served as liaison between
the UN in Uzbekistan and the Disabled People’s Organization. He also served as
consultant on disability affairs for the Japan International Cooperation Agency,
where he worked on strategy and collaborative projects aimed to increase disability
inclusion. While at SU, Turdiev expanded his international involvement and
worked at the United Nations in New York during 2017.
Turdiev is optimistic “that collaboration on
Disability Rights Clinic in Uzbekistan will extend and intensify the already
established partnership between Syracuse University and Uzbekistan’s higher
education institutions.”
10/20/20