Mentoring and Career Development Programme
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The OCEEA has a long history of engagement with the water community in Central Asia and Afghanistan. One objective is to support women water professionals in the region to advance their careers and reach senior management positions in the water sector. In 2021, the OCEEA launched a mentoring and career development programme for women water professionals, in partnership with the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia and the Stockholm International Water Institute. Each month, over 20 women from Central Asia and Afghanistan meet online with experts and mentors to discuss challenges facing women in the water sector and take part in capacity-building activities.
“The Mentoring Programme allows us to share experiences and knowledge and provides a platform where we can improve not only our professional skills, but also personal qualities such as public speaking, communication and self-branding,” says Aigerim Karibay, who works at the Bartogay Reservoir water management complex in Kazakhstan. “Such programmes are very necessary and useful for broadening horizons and reaching for new peaks for women professionals”
In the coming year, the mentoring programme will enable members of the Central Asia-Afghanistan Network to exchange experience with international experts, including from other women’s networks. The OCEEA will also support members to showcase their work in regional and international water events.
Shohida Tulieva, a participant from Tajikistan, is an example of how the programme helps women develop their careers: “As a result of being part of this network I was invited recently to be a guest lecturer and now I am looking to apply for a PhD course on water management and gender aspects”, she says.