The lecture series, a joint effort by the OSCE Centre in Astana and the Foreign Ministry, started earlier this year in western Kazakhstan.

Today’s lecture and an earlier event held in Taraz were attended by some 600 representatives of the regional government administrations and political parties, university students, non-governmental organizations and journalists. The lectures presented the history, achievements and prospects of the OSCE, as well as Kazakhstan’s areas of focus for its Chairmanship in 2010.

"The OSCE Centre in Astana assists the host country in implementing OSCE principles and values and intends to extend its activities to the regions of Kazakhstan," said Jeannette Kloetzer, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana.

The South Kazakhstan Governor, Askar Myrzahmetov, added: "We consider it is important to inform our population about the OSCE and Kazakhstan’s role as its forthcoming Chairman."

This week, the Centre also is supporting two-day training seminars in Taraz and Shymkent for 50 community police officers, organized by the Centre in co-operation with the Interior Ministry and the non-governmental organization Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law.