OSCE helps train civil society representatives in Turkmenistan

ASHGABAT, 23 September 2012 – The fourth in a series of OSCE seminars to help  civil society representatives in Turkmenistan’s regions improve their skills to manage projects, mainstream gender issues in their work, and effectively communicate concluded today in Ashgabat.

“These seminars are a part of the OSCE Centre’s project aimed at enabling Turkmenistan’s civil society to effectively run projects for the benefit of their communities,” said Ambassador Ivo Petrov, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. Petrov highlighted the OSCE’s commitment to increasing the capacity of civil society and the importance of implementing OSCE commitments in this area.

Over a four-month period, 19 representatives and volunteers from16 national and regional civil society organizations participated in the seminars, which were conducted by the public organization “Keik Okara” and supported by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat and financed by the Government of Norway. As a follow up to the seminars, the participants will organize small public events in their communities.

As part of the same project, representatives of Turkmenistan’s civil society organizations will participate in a study tour to one of the OSCE participating States to learn about work of civil society organizations in that country. In addition, a series of training courses on basic project management will be organized in different regions of Turkmenistan.