Byron alumni Parkhat Yussupjanov participated in the 2010 Byron Fellowship. Shortly after completing the fellowship he returned to his home country of Kazakhstan, where he was elected as president of “ZHIGER – Youth organization persons with disabilities”. This is a grass-root NGO which strives to obtain full inclusion of those people with disabilities within society.
Parkhat’s passion and drive towards empowering those seen as less able or vulnerable, coupled with the leadership strategies and tools that he learned at Byron have seen him become a leading light in his country. He has also taken much that he learned from other fellows and mentors to help motivate and build himself up on his journey to become head of the organization.
In December 2016 in recognition of his work, Parkhat was . This was a reflection of the great difference that Parkhat has made in bringing about better social welfare for/of people with disabilities within his country.