About Dr. Rizvana Sadykova
A Kazakh international affairs practitioner, educator, public communicator and peacebuilding professional.
Biography
Dr. Rizvana Sadykova’s career brings together humanitarian operations, United Nations peacekeeping, international law, migration, education, diplomacy, journalism and intercultural dialogue. She is the first Kazakh UN peacekeeper.
She served as a Civil Affairs Officer with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo from 1999 to 2002, and worked as an Emergency Coordinator for public health with the World Health Organisation in North Darfur in 2004. Her professional record also includes university teaching, institutional development, public administration, labour and migration research, and senior English editorial leadership at Kazinform.
Education and training
- PhD in Public Health from the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR.
- MA in International Relations, with distinction, from Moscow State University of International Relations.
- LLM in Public International Law from the University of Amsterdam.
- Additional training in disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration, crisis management, refugee issues, human rights, mediation, negotiation and women workers’ rights.
Professional experience
- United Nations Mission in Kosovo, 1999–2002: Civil Affairs Officer working across project management, training and reporting, civil emergency planning, DDR and coordination with international actors.
- World Health Organisation, North Darfur, 2004: Emergency public-health coordination and humanitarian assistance for internally displaced people affected by civil war.
- Higher education and institutional development: Teaching and programme work at Kazakh University of the Humanities and Law/KazGUU, Astana International University and the Academy of Public Administration, including public international law, global studies, humanitarian affairs and diplomatic protocol.
- Kazinform: Founder and Head of the English Editorial and later Editor-in-Chief, with responsibility for writing, editing, public relations and external relations.
- International projects and forums: Work connected with EXPO 2017, EXPO 2020, the Astana Economic Forum, the Asian Winter Games, the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions and other international cooperation and communications projects.