3 December 2003 Kyrgyz Republic Minister of Education and Culture, Professor Ishenkul S. Boldjurova, last week visited the ORT Vocational Training Centre (VTC) at the ORT Moscow Technical College. The visit came after an initial meeting between the Minister and World ORTs representative in Russia, Avi Ganon, at which Ganon gave an informative presentation on ORTs operation in the CIS and Baltic States and described the activities of the VTC. At the meeting the Minister had expressed interest in establishing an ORT VTC in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz Republic), and stated that she felt it important to see the day to day running of a similar operation. During her visit the Minister met with ORTs professional staff including Dr. Sergey Gorinskiy, Deputy Director of ORT Russia, who provided an interesting presentation on the education offered by ORT to adults in the CIS and Baltic States; Kevin Krogmann, Regional Coordinator for ORT International Cooperation in the CIS and Baltic States, who discussed ORTs International Cooperation Projects; and Igor Pavlov, Director of ORT VTC, who explained the activities and facilities at his educational institution. The Minister expressed her positive impressions as to the VTC and announced that is now seeking international support for the next stage of the establishment of the new ORT Centre in Bishkek. Currently the only school in Bishkek to offer Jewish studies is Pri Etz Chaim, an ORT affiliated school. The school, which follows the Kyrgyzstan National Curriculum, has a Department of Jewish Studies which offers courses in Hebrew, Jewish History, Jewish Traditions, Tanach and Jewish Song and Dance. The new ORT school will therefore fill a void for the Jewish community of more than 1000 members.