On March 6, 2024, at the world's largest tourism exhibition ITB Berlin 2024, Karakol was announced as the winner in the People's Choice Awards 2024 category of the international sustainability platform Green Destinations. This Green Destinations' special category award, the People’s Choice Award, allows the general public to support their favourite Good Practice Story. The 2024 People’s Choice Award campaign ran from 15 to 29 January and received its highest-ever vote count. Karakol (Kyrgyzstan) received the maximum votes (2892) to win this year's People’s Choice Award. Last year, in 2023, Karakol entered the Top 100 successful sustainably developing destinations according to the prestigious Green Destinations competition, which served as evidence of the tourism sector's commitment to sustainable development and innovation in tourism. New success has been made possible thanks to the active support of our citizens and residents of other countries also! This achievement is the result of the collaborative efforts of the Swiss Winter Tourism Kyrgyzstan Project with all partners including Department of Tourism, City of Karakol, Destination Karakol, Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators.
The «Skills Development in Kyrgyzstan» project, a 12-year initiative, was launched on December 14, 2023 by the Swiss Embassy and Helvetas Kyrgyzstan. Focused on providing relevant vocational skills to the Kyrgyz population, the project kick-off saw over 80 participants from various sectors, including business, education, and government. This initiative will support the development of a non-formal education and training market through capacitating business associations, private and public training providers. It is further aiming at enhancing policy dialogue to create a favourable eco-system for non-formal education and training. Swiss Ambassador Olivier Bangerter emphasized the project's significance in offering quality short-term skills training for better employment. “This project is important as it shall quickly lead to tangible results for Kyrgyzstani people, employed or unemployed, to find better employment through qualitative short-term and private sector led skills provision”, he stated. “This will be done in close cooperation and collaboration with the respective Kyrgyz ministries and institutions, as only joint efforts will lead to sustainable success”. The project, funded by the Swiss government with over 12 million CHF, will also support employability, labor migrants, and efforts to validate non-formal skills nationally.
At the Regional Conference in Jalal-Abad, topics of effective management of on-farm irrigation were deliberated. The conference showcased the example of Masy village district, which is restoring on-farm irrigation channels with funds from the district Development Fund. Effective water resource management became possible thanks to a law signed by President Sadyr Japarov in 2021. According to this law, local self-governments can now take on-farm irrigation channels into their balance. Irrigation canals in Masy village Thus, at Masy, the decision to transfer key channels, such as Apyrtan and Bogot, to municipal ownership was made at the last session of the local council. Previously, these channels were on the balance of "Murat-Murap" Water Users Association. The rural administration of Masy village was one of the first to take control of these channels and successfully attracts additional resources from various sources, including local budgets and development funds. The Apyrtan channel extends for 12,000 meters, while the Bogot channel is 11,000 meters long. These water arteries provide water supply to several villages. Azamat Narbaev, head of Masy village administration: "The law adopted in 2021 aimed to solve problems in irrigation supply. It gave local self-governance bodies the ability to take irrigation facilities into their balance. Subsequently, at the initiative of the local administration, a decision was made to take a 23-kilometer section of the irrigation channel into their balance. This allowed us to finance regular maintenance and necessary repairs from the local budget and other financial sources." Now, providing irrigation water to the population, preventing disputes over water resource use, and ensuring safety and cleanliness in the channels also fall under the responsibility of the rural administration. Azamat Narbaev also noted that the rural administration took 23 kilometers of the channel into its balance and obtained the ability to finance maintenance and repairs of this section from the local budget and other financial sources. "A problematic section crossing a cemetery was overgrown with bushes, leading to water loss and serious difficulties in supplying water to farmers. Using the new law, we started repairing and concreting 500 meters of this section. The works cost 3,900,000 soms, funded by the Nooken District Development Fund. The results were very successful. Water now freely flows through the repaired section, reaching the farmers," he said. Law Aimed at Reforms In 2021, Kyrgyzstan adopted a reformative bill aimed at solving problems with a shortage of irrigation water and improving the management of the irrigation system. Innovations were introduced in the Water Code and the Law on Associations of Water Users. The bill was developed by the Initiative Group on Irrigation Water Issues. The main relevance of the law is connected with the problem of providing irrigation water in the country, where 736,000 hectares of land are subject to irrigation. On-farm channels, previously transferred to water user associations, became objects of insufficient funding for their maintenance and repair, leading to the constant deterioration of their condition and unstable distribution of water for irrigation. Farmers demanded effective management of the irrigation system. Asylbek Chekirov, an expert in municipal management: "By amending the Water Code, the law introduced the concept of 'municipal property,' giving the village council the ability to take the irrigation system into their balance and attract additional funds from various sources, including republican or local budgets and development funds. Municipal bodies can also take on the function of delivering water to farmers, replacing the duties of water user associations. The law also regulates tariff policy, ensuring more effective irrigation management in the country." Digitalization in Kyrgyz-Ata The second part of the Regional Conference will take place on December 8 in the city of Osh, where participants will discuss the experience of Kyrgyz-Ata village district in digitizing irrigation water supply services to farmers, which led to an increase in irrigation fee collection to 95%. In 2022, 44 km of channels were transferred to the municipal ownership of Kyrgyz-Ata rural administration. The execution functions were transferred to the municipal enterprise "Kyrgyz-Ata Bulagy," which services three networks: drinking water, irrigation water, and garbage collection. Schedules for irrigation water supply were created, allowing optimization of distribution and contributing to more rational use of water resources, preventing unnecessary expenditures. Mechanical cleaning was carried out, water intakes were reinforced using 50 gabion nets, woven nets filled with stones, to strengthen banks and protect water intakes from erosion. Partial cleaning and repair of old troughs covering 4 kilometers were also carried out, including restoration and reinforcement of trough sides and partial renewal of their structure, aimed at increasing the efficiency of the water pipeline and preventing water loss. Cholpon Ergeshova, director of "Abad" Public Foundation: "The main achievement of the enterprise was the digitization of the database: A digital data management system was introduced for more effective tracking and management of water supply information. "A mobile application for subscribers was also developed, allowing monitoring and managing water supply data, including checking water consumption, current debt, and account status notifications. A non-cash payment system was introduced, allowing subscribers to pay for water through various payment systems, leading to an increase in water fee collection. Preliminary analysis shows that in 2023, the payment collection plan was over-fulfilled by 120%" - emphasized Cholpon Ergeshova. This news is of great interest to the rural population and farmers, who in turn can follow the example of these agricultural companies and ensure their fields are watered, which in turn should contribute to an increase in agricultural production volumes.
Helvetas is a Swiss development organization operating in Kyrgyzstan since November 1994 and implementing projects in Kyrgyzstan in various sectors. One of the current projects is the newly started Skills Development Kyrgyzstan Project (SDK), funded by the Government of Switzerland through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). In November 2023, Helvetas launched the main 4-year phase of the project, covering the period from November 2023 to October 2027, aiming at strengthening non-formal inclusive and effective training offers for employed, underemployed and unemployed youth, women and vulnerable groups in Kyrgyzstan. The main objective of SDK Project is to make upskilling and reskilling courses accessible, affordable and relevant to the current and future needs of the employers by developing and institutionalizing the non-formal part of the VET system nationwide and thus addressing both economic as well as social needs. SDK focuses on improving training quality and inclusion based on viable and sustainable financing mechanisms. Post-training support and enhanced career guidance will assist learners in finding decent employment opportunities. The project activities will be carried out country wide. Helvetas/SDK announces a competition to fill a full-time vacant position of the SDK VET Policies and Education Systems Expert for its Bishkek office. Responsibilities Responsible for providing strategic guidance on developing a conducive regulatory framework and eco-system enhancing private-sector led non-formal VSD training offers Responsible for managing project activities linked to policy dialogue on promoting non-formal education and relevant capacity building and training for key state, private and third sector stakeholders Responsible for supporting the Project Manager / Team Leader in assuring high quality project implementation, project reporting and communication with stakeholders Responsible for supporting project visibility and communication flows, for participating and contributing to knowledge and learning sharing Professional Qualifications Education: Master’s degree (or equivalent) in business administration, economics, education policy or similar domain Further training or specific skills and experience: Sound background in dealing with education system reform, ideally in VET and social partnership Sound knowledge and experience in PCM Experience in labour migration and lifelong learning skills is an asset Professional experience At least five-year experience in education or policy related projects At least three-year experience in project management Methodological and/or leadership competencies Result-oriented personality / maintaining deadlines Process facilitation / moderation and coaching skills Knowledge and experience in participatory and gender-sensitive approaches Excellent analytical, conceptual, visionary and programmatic competencies Social and personal competencies Social competence and intercultural communication skills Good reporting and writing skills Negotiation skills Languages English (oral and written), Kyrgyz (oral and written) and Russian (oral and written) IT skills Proficiency with MS Office software Interested candidates are kindly requested to send their detailed CV and cover letter in English to: kyrgyzstan@helvetas.org (with copy Alina.Asanakunova@helvetas.org) The deadline for submission is 17:00, December 12, 2023. Please, kindly include “SDK – VET Policies Expert” in the subject line of your email.
Helvetas is a Swiss development organization operating in Kyrgyzstan since November 1994 and implementing projects in Kyrgyzstan in various sectors. One of the current projects is the newly started Skills Development Kyrgyzstan Project (SDK), funded by the Government of Switzerland through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). In November 2023, Helvetas launched the main 4-year phase of the project, covering the period from November 2023 to October 2027, aiming at strengthening non-formal inclusive and effective training offers for employed, underemployed and unemployed youth, women and vulnerable groups in Kyrgyzstan. The main objective of SDK Project is to make upskilling and reskilling courses accessible, affordable and relevant to the current and future needs of the employers by developing and institutionalizing the non-formal part of the VET system nationwide and thus addressing both economic as well as social needs. SDK focuses on improving training quality and inclusion based on viable and sustainable financing mechanisms. Post-training support and enhanced career guidance will assist learners in finding decent employment opportunities. The project activities will be carried out country wide. Helvetas/SDK announces a competition to fill a full-time vacant position of the SDK Project Assistant for its Bishkek office. Reporting Reporting to Project Manager Key objectives A Providing full assistance in effective operation of multi-tier project with multiple stakeholders B Project monitoring and evaluation/ data collection and tracking for all project components C Support services for logistical, administrative and financial matters delivered Main tasks A Maintaining office co-ordination: maintaining co-ordination and link between the department/person and the rest of the office; Assisting proper communication with all stakeholders; Preparing and distributing project communication materials, leaflets/calendars; Composing and distributing invitations / minutes for SDK presentations and conferences; Filing documents in accordance with the approved PD Documentation System Procedure; Updating, inventorying and organizing the project documentation; maintaining correspondence with partners; Maintaining project pages in social network (Facebook, Instagram etc.); Oversee all project materials and events following and being in compliance with the project’s Communication Strategy; Manage tendering process (tender announcements, minutes, interviews, notifications); Preparing Service/Grant Agreements for review by the Legal Advisor. B Project data collection quarterly and annually from component leads against LogFrame; Preparing SDK indicator spreadsheets to track data and report them to PM; Liaise with the Head Office (HO) Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) person for the development of online data collection system or any M&E developments; Be responsible for all M&E activities for SDK project. C Making all necessary arrangements for workshops, meetings and seminars; Assist the HO financial team in providing, documenting and filing all necessary financial data; Order office supplies and stationery, photocopying, binding, filing, other small office work as needed or requested, including inventory of consumables; Arranging logistical support of missions, managing flight / transport issues, assist expatriates / consultants / trainees / volunteers to settle and work in the country; Giving general information to visitors / callers about the project; Provide written and oral translation as needed. Responsibilities A Responsible for fast and correct communication flow within the team Responsible for organization and accessibility of information B Responsible for Monitoring & Evaluation activities in the project Responsible for project data collection and tracking against the LogFrame C Responsible for travel arrangements and logistics for collaborators / consultants / expatriates Responsible for event preparation and logistics Other duties of project assistant Supporting the staff when assigned Competency profile Basic education Mandatory: Bachelor’s degree (university diploma) in economics, business administration, or similar domain Optional: Additional training/skills improvement in the relevant fields Professional experience Mandatory: Willingess to learn and interest in development programming Social and personal competencies Excellent communication skills Good reporting and writing skills Moderation skills Languages Mandatory: Kyrgyz (oral and written), Russian (oral and written), English (oral and written) Computer skills Mandatory: Excellent knowledge of MS Office programmes How to apply Interested candidates should send their resume along with a cover letter and recommendation letters to kyrgyzstan@helvetas.org (please specify “SDK Project Assistant” in the subject line of your email). Applications should be submitted no later than 5:00 PM on November 26, 2023.
Branch of the Association HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation in KR is looking for Project Manager of Youth United for the Future Project (duty station in Osh). Main tasks: Leads the YOU Project in all aspects of project cycle management; Provides leadership and fosters an atmosphere of cooperation among project staff, and partner organisations to achieve project objectives; Introduces and maintains a proper planning and monitoring system to ensure the quality control of the project’s outputs and expected outcomes; Establishes and monitors agreements/contracts with partner organisations; Recruits and supervises project staff and mobilises required technical assistance; Manages and controls project funds, ensuring that they are utilized in the most cost effective manner. Checks and approves narrative and financial reports of partners; Ensures the timely preparation of annual internal budgets and financial reports providing explanations on over- or under-expenditures; Makes sure that local legal requirements and local administrative regulations are followed in the execution of the project; Represents the project in regular contacts with the Government of Kyrgyzstan and other national and international partners. Qualifications: Degree in public policy, intercultural communication, peace studies, sociology or other relevant social studies; Good understanding of inter-ethnic, community security/peace and conflict prevention issues; A minimum of 5 years’ relevant work experience preferably in supporting community-based initiatives in the field of community security/ peace building / conflict prevention; Experience in building young people’s skills and experience in democratic practice and in undertaking participatory research on root causes of radicalization among youth and ways to address them collaboratively, and in partnership with communities and local authorities; Experience in identification of the capacity gaps and requirements of community-based organisations, NGOs, local government and local security centres in relation to the local collaboration and security provision; Work experience in dialogue facilitation across ethnic, rural-urban, religious and regional divides Experience in the area of youth participation in public life; Result-oriented project management (logical framework approach); Strong coaching and facilitation skills; Social competence and communication skills; Knowledge and experience in participatory and gender sensitive approaches; Process facilitation / moderation skills; Motivational leadership style and team building skills; Proven interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills and sensitivity; Excellent reporting and writing skills; Negotiation skills; Excellent knowledge of Kyrgyz, English and Russian. Interested candidates are kindly requested to send their detailed CV, cover letter and recommendation letters in English to: kyrgyzstan@helvetas.org (with copy Alina.Asanakunova@helvetas.org) The deadline for submission is no later than 17:00, October 30, 2023. Please, kindly include "Project Manager - YOU" in the subject line of your email.
