Kyrgyz brand With Love by Alay was presented at the international fair Artigiano in Fiera in the world fashion capital Milan, Italy. Artigiano in Fiera is an international fair of crafts, nations and nationalities. Today the fair is the largest event that promotes artisans, creators of beauty and goodness, unique and quality products, respectful of nature and people. Every year since 1996, more than 3,000 artisans from 110 countries and more than 1 million visitors take part in the fair. This year, Kyrgyzstan was represented at the fair by the public association Business Women of Alay (BWA), “Daairy” Coordination and Marketing Center, and Nomad Store, which, with the help of the Swiss Bai Alai programme, was able to present its new collection under the With Love by Alay brand. "Not long ago it seemed the limit of our dreams to exhibit our products outside our hometown and enter the Osh market, but today, thanks to the help of the Swiss government, we are already in Milan at the one of the world's largest craft fairs. For our entire organization this is a great motivation to continue and improve our work. We gained invaluable experience, met a huge number of like-minded people from all over the world, established business contacts. Now we have a clear vision for the development of our brand, specific goals, and most importantly - inspiration" - shared her impressions Saltanat Asanova, Executive Director of Business Women of Alay PF. It is worth noting that during the event BWA was able to make an agreement with a designer from Rome for the supply of products, more specifically backpacks and scarves made in Alai and Chon Alai. "At the moment the parties are signing all the necessary documents, so we can't divulge all the details yet. But I can confidently say that the agreements reached are a huge success for the With Love by Alay brand. As soon as all formalities are settled, we will be able to proudly announce that our domestic products are being exported to Italy", - said Begaiym Mamatova, Coordinator of Handicraft component of the Swiss Bai Alai Programme. The experience and new contacts gained by BWA should contribute to the development of the organization, increase sales and productivity of Alai and Chon-Alai artisans, and establish long-term partnerships with local and foreign partners for future orders. The Phase II of the Small Business and Income Creation Programme in Alai and Chon Alai is financed by the Government of Switzerland and implemented by Helvetas Kyrgyzstan and Aga Khan Foundation. -- The Government of Switzerland provides assistance for the development of the Kyrgyz Republic to improve the well-being of the population. Over the last 25 years Switzerland has granted more than CHF 430 million to Kyrgyzstan in the form of technical, financial and humanitarian support. For more information, please visit https://www.eda.admin.ch/bishkek
HELVETAS Intercooperation GmbH in the Kyrgyz Republic is seeking a short-term national consultant for integration of local food production and handicrafts in the tourism value chain. The specific areas of focus shall be (1) identification of USPs for food and handicrafts; and (2) product development, positioning and marketing. Background While the term “sustainable tourism” is still not widely known and used in the region, terms such as “nature tourism”, “responsible tourism”, and “green tourism” are increasingly being used, indicating the growing awareness of the need to switch to tourism models that will have less negative impacts on the environment, natural resources and local communities’ livelihoods. With this project, funded by the European Union's SWITCH-Asia program, Helvetas, together with our partners Stichting European Centre for Ecological and Agricultural Tourism – Netherlands (ECEAT), the Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators (KATO) and the Kyrgyz Community Based Tourism Association Hospitality Kyrgyzstan (KCBTA), responds to the objectives of the Kyrgyz government to advance a more sustainable tourism, involving communities, and diversifying tourism products in order to attract new target groups and clients. Among other efforts, Greentour aims at integrating local food production and handicrafts in the tourism value chain, as well as at promoting carbon-neutral and sustainable packages which could add to positioning Kyrgyzstan as a destination committed to sustainable tourism development. Download the detailed TOR
Switzerland has allocated CHF 3.5 mln (around 320 million soms) for the project to contribute to decent work and income opportunities for many people working in this area. It will help to develop cross-country skiing, ice skating, snow shoeing and other winter sport activities in Karakol destination, which then will be roll out in other regions of the country. The event was attended by representatives of Kyrgyz authorities, international organizations, tourism businesses, civil and expert communities. “I am confident that through our joint efforts we can achieve success in development of winter tourism. Moreover, we can make our country famous in many parts of the world and create an effective mechanism of sustainable winter tourism development", - said Kiyal Kenjematova, Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, Information, Tourism and Youth Policy. “Tourism in Kyrgyzstan can become an important contributor to economic growth, creating income and economic opportunities for many people. Supporting the Kyrgyz Government and other Kyrgyz partners in their efforts to develop the private sector including for tourism remains one of the priorities of the Swiss cooperation”, said Olivier Bangerter, Swiss Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan. The Swiss project will also address the issues of climate change and environmental protection. During the event, the participants were presented with main areas of work and planned activities. The first phase of the project is designed for four years and implemented by Helvetas Kyrgyzstan. For more information on this project, please contact the project Manager Gulnura Dzhanybaeva, tel: (0775) 978211, email: Gulnura.Dzhanybaeva@helvetas.org, For more details about Swiss Cooperation in Kyrgyzstan, please contact Tursunai Chodurova, Swiss Embassy, tel.: (0312) 301036, (0770) 710054, email: tursunai.chodurova@eda.admin.ch *** The Sustainable Winter Tourism Development (WTK) project aims to develop a sustainable and competitive winter tourism value chain in Kyrgyzstan. The project is funded by the Government of Switzerland and implemented by Helvetas Kyrgyzstan. About Swiss support to Kyrgyzstan: The Government of Switzerland provides assistance for the development of the Kyrgyz Republic to improve the well-being of the population. Over the last 25 years Switzerland has granted more than CHF 450 million to Kyrgyzstan in the form of technical, financial and humanitarian support. For more information, please visit our website: https://www.eda.admin.ch/bishkek
The event was attended by members of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, heads and representatives of diplomatic missions of foreign states, representatives of international organizations, NGOs and business. Helvetas projects supported their partners and beneficiaries to participate in the forum-exhibition. For example, the "Greentour" project supported Naryn Tourism Association, and the Swiss projects "Bai Alai" and "Winter Tourism Kyrgyzstan" supported "Visit Alai" and "Destination Karakol" public associations respectively.
The event was organized in honor of the World Women's Entrepreneurship Day, which is celebrated annually on November 19 in 144 countries under the auspices of the UN as a global initiative of Women's Entrepreneurship Day (WED), which aims to empower women around the world. This year the forum kicked off on November 12 in Daroot-Korgon village of Chon-Alai district, followed by an event in Gulcha village of Alai district on November 14 and in Osh city on November 16. The event was organized by the Swiss Bai Alai programme, implemented by Helvetas Kyrgyzstan together with the Aga Khan Foundation, as well as the Kurak Women's Forum NGO and the USAID’s Agrosooda project. More than 200 people from Batken, Osh and Jalal-Abad regions took an active part in the forum and were able not only to share their experiences and success stories, but also to hear the success stories of the event speakers: - The Ambassador of the World Women's Entrepreneurship Day in the Kyrgyz Republic, Chairman of the Board of Kurak Women's Forum Ainura Sagynbaeva - Reina Janybekova, Head of the Reina-Kench organic farm. - Creative Director of "Dilbar" Fashion House, Member of the Board of Kurak Women’s Forum Dilbar Ashimbayeva - Maergul Karakozueva, Social Entrepreneur, Founder of Art Hotel and Konok Hostel in Osh - Dilbara Muratova, head of the Issyk-Kul branch of the Kyrgyz Union of Beekeepers "During the forum I received a lot of useful information about business opportunities in different sectors from women who have achieved success. For residents of remote areas like Alai such events are very useful, as we have the opportunity to get firsthand information, as well as gain motivation and overcome our fears" - said Gulbarchyn Azimova, a resident of Zhosholu village in Alai district. In turn, the speakers noted the high interest of the forum participants and awarded the most active participants with certificates for individual consultations on business. -- The Phase II of the Small Business and Income Creation Programme in Alai and Chon Alai is funded by the Government of Switzerland through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by Helvetas Kyrgyzstan and Aga Khan Foundation. For more information on this project, please contact Bai Alai Project Manager Imanaly Turkbaev, Imanaly.turkbaev@helvetas.org, tel: +996 (550) 157 013.
Assignment Title: Conducting eco-campaigns in social media to raise public awareness on proper garbage handling Location(s): Osh, Alay and Chon-Alai districts Assignment periods: October 20, 2021 - 31 May, 2022 Main requirements: · Work experience and necessary competency on the matter on hand · raising awareness of the community on the waste management of the programme target region · Readiness to take up monitoring role after conduction of media-compaign Tasks: · Creating new public pages on social media (Instagram, Facebook, Tik-Tok, Twitter) · Maintenance and promotion of the social pages with the help of contests and games on the topic of proper garbage handling · Search for new materials and regular publications on social media for raising awareness of community on proper garbage handling · Targeted advertising to attract new subscribers and increase social media audience of the created public pages Expected results: · Created public pages in popular social media (Instagram, Facebook, Tik-Tok, Twitter) · Public pages gained 100 thousand subscribers · 120 publications (Instagram, Facebook, Tik-Tok, Twitter) published for raising awareness among community on the waste management · Conducted 4 different competitions to raise awareness of civil society on the waste management. General tasks Provide a detailed action plan for the provision of services, taking into account the tasks set, for discussion and approval by the project team; Provide descriptive reports: - submit the first descriptive report no later than December 20, 2021; - submit the second final descriptive report no later than May 15, 2021; 3. Application Procedure Applicants must send the following documents by email to Beksultan.abdisalamov@helvetas.org no later than October 20, 2021: List of application documents · CVs of the main performers with experience in performing similar tasks; · Data on audience of each blogger/influencer that applicants plans to involve in this task · Action plan, implementation schedule, including a detailed budget. · Contact details from at least two independent references who has knowledge of the applicant’s expertise and relevant work experience; Basic requirements for a potential consultant or potential organization: · Experience of at least 3 years in SMM · Successful experience of developing and promoting social media pages · Experience in working with local non-governmental organizations, international organizations (at least 2 years);
