News, insights & analysis
The challenges facing our societies are complex, fast-moving and deeply interconnected. We convene our Fellows’ community online and in person, creating spaces for constructive dialogue, exchange and learning. Here, you can find individual and collective perspectives, analysis and stories from JST Fellows and partners – leaders working at the frontlines of social change across Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
From policy analysis to personal reflections and practitioner insights, this is where the JST network thinks out loud – curious, constructive and grounded in experience.
How Ukrainian women in Scotland are building a future for Ukraine
Since the full-scale war started in Ukraine in 2022, thousands of displaced Ukrainian women have been based in Scotland, where they continue to work for Ukraine’s future and recovery. In…
Apply for our 2025-26 Wider Europe and Central Asia Fellowship
Are you a changemaker working to build a fairer, more sustainable, and inclusive future? If so, our new Wider Europe and Central Asia Fellowship could support your work. Our 2025-26…
Shifting the power to communities: an “inner” Marshall Plan for Ukraine?
How can communities reduce their dependence on aid while building social and economic resilience and a democratic mindset? Vadim Georgienko’s citizen token system provides an elegant solution. Foreign aid has…
Can sharing stories help Armenia heal from trauma?
The descendants of survivors of the Armenian genocide (1915-1923) still live with inherited trauma, while historical wounds have been reopened for Armenians fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh. On 24 April, Armenians around the…
Apply for our 2025-26 Future of Belarus Fellowship
Are you a Belarusian living in exile and working towards a free and peaceful future for your country? Our Leaders in Exile: Future of Belarus Fellowship could support your work….
The Kyrgyz Republic’s civil society looks for opportunities in adversity
As funding cuts and legal restrictions hinder the work of civil society in the Kyrgyz Republic, JST Fellows are looking for new opportunities for collaboration. Civil society in the Kyrgyz…
Kazakhstan: the economy needs people with relevant skills
Economist Adil Kusmanov believes human capital development is central to diversifying and transforming the economy. He brings this perspective to the Bolashak Centre, Kazakhstan’s prestigious international scholarship programme. Adil is…
Turkmenistan: engaging young people in climate action
Gulshat Ayydova, an educator and activist from Turkmenistan, is working to empower young people in her country to speak up about climate change and other environmental issues. “We are doing…
Georgia: empowering youth to be active citizens
Youth leader Giga Phartenadze is working to engage young people in politics in Georgia and help them understand their rights against a backdrop of increasing state-led repression. Thousands of people…
Moldova: advocating for displaced people’s rights
People who flee Transnistria – a separatist region in Moldova – have no right to protection under Moldovan law. Human rights lawyer Vadim Vieru is advocating for legislation to change…
Azerbaijan: positive role models for women in finance
Gular Pashayeva is the first woman board member at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan. She is on a mission to improve corporate governance and women’s representation in the financial sector…
The identity of a nation is woven from fragile things
Three years after the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the creative community of Ukraine, of which I am a part, continues to operate within the logic of developmental values rather…