Aleph Strategies was commissioned by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to conduct an experience capitalisation exercise of the Central Asia Arts and Culture Programme. The objectives were:

• To analyse the results of CAACP over all its phases, in each country as well as in its regional dimension, and how it influenced the cultural scene of Central Asia; to learn what the critical factors were that contributed to or supported the results of CAACP;

• To analyse the changes in the context and how the CAACP adapted to those changes;

• To provide recommendations for the planning of a new arts and culture intervention in Central Asia: how it could be adapted to the context changes, taking into account the current needs of the independent art scene and its actors and which implementation modalities shall be applied.

Fieldwork was conducted in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. We held workshops, interviews and project visits to gather experiences and build recommendations to inform the next 12-year engagement strategy for the Swiss Government in the region.