ODIHR and OSCE field operations in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan support policy advisors in improving their policy-making skills

Policy advisors from Central Asian ministries, presidential administrations, parliaments and research institutions completed an OSCE-organized three-day Young Policy Advisers Course on 27 June 2016 on Issyk-Kul Lake, with the aim of improving their professional capacities and enhancing their ability to develop and implement policies in an objective and value-based manner.

Organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the OSCE Centre in Bishkek and the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, the course brought together 20 participants from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, to discuss the role of policy advisers, how to shape complex political environments, engage internal and external stakeholders, and master communication and advocacy skills.

"This training course is designed to support the OSCE participating States with improving democratic governance and increasing the level of professionalism in the public service," said Marcin Walecki, the Head ODIHR’s Democratization Department. "We focus on young professionals as our future leaders and, thus, hope to offer them a new set of tools and perspectives, at the same time they build regional networks."

Aida Aidarova, a Senior Political Assistant at the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, who also participated in the training, said: "In addition to the knowledge I gained I also appreciate the opportunity to meet other professionals from the region, build networks and also share experiences and practices."

Building upon the experience of a series of training events previously organized by ODIHR and partner organizations in Sweden (2014) and Hungary (2015) for countries from the Eastern Partnership, this event was jointly organized by ODIHR’s Democratic governance programme, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek’s youth programme, and the OSCE Office in Tajikistan’s democratic political processes programme. These programmes aim to promote youth political participation across the OSCE region and to support OSCE participating States in their efforts to strengthen accountability and pluralism within their democratic institutions. It also aims to facilitate conflict prevention through the networking of youth in the region and to enhance the capacity of young policy advisors to participate in decision-making processes.