Bishkek, September 11, 2017. The second phase of the project "Strengthening the Civil Society in Public Councils in Kyrgyzstan" was launched in August. Several conferences and trainings took place with more than 300 participants.
Among other things, an open dialogue with representatives of civil society organizations and local government representatives as well as members of the public councils on necessary changes to the legal framework for the public councils began. The councils are made up of voluntarily committed citizens from the respective regions or municipalities. They advise authorities and public institutions to improve their work and services to the population.
These dialogues are based on a previously prepared analysis of the existing legal framework under the leadership of the local partner Human Rights Advisory Board. This revealed gaps and provided suggestions for the further development of legislation. To this end, the participants of the dialogue sessions are now preparing proposals until the end of the project in the summer of 2018.
In addition, a series of training courses has begun for members of public councils and civil society organizations, whose topics are also the result of a previously conducted needs analysis. The trainings are in good demand and address issues such as IT management or diversity in local administrations, monitoring of local and regional governmental authorities, or the foundations of cooperation and negotiation talks.
In addition, seminars are held on the topic of "solutions journalism", in which participants have lively discussions about the development of Kyrgyz media. In view of the upcoming elections of a new president in October, these are currently under special scrutiny by government members, but also by citizens of the country.
The training and dialogue events will be continued in other parts of the country over the coming months.
The aim of the EU-funded project is to make the public councils and their potential for the social development in Kyrgyzstan more popular and strengthen their capacities.