European Union supports more active role of women and youth in decision-making in Kazakhstan

ALMATY– The Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia (EFCA) launches a new project to strengthen the role of women and youth in decision-making to ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels in Kazakhstan. The project received a grant from the European Union (EU) under the thematic programme “Civil Society Organisations and Local Authorities”.

EFCA will implement the project “Your Voice Matters, Civic Tech Solutions for Decision-making” in close partnership with Public Foundation “ITeachMe” Competence Development Center”. The project will contribute to increased participation of women and youth in decision-making and improved digital literacy rate. It will be implemented from January 2022 to January 2024 in major regions of Kazakhstan. The total budget of the project: EUR 277,738, including the EU contribution of EUR 249,964.

“Our project is now more relevant than ever because it will identify and promote new opportunities to involve women and youth in the decision-making as widely as possible to enhance their civic responsibility. We will develop the best practices and recommendations, tools and solutions to increase manifold the effectiveness and engagement of the ordinary citizens in building our new society”, saidRinad Temirbekov, EFCA Director.

The project will enhance interaction between targeted civil society representatives and government bodies and increase usage of civic tech tools among targeted Civil Society Organisations and initiative groups.

“The January events showed that there is no simplified form of communications between the people and the government in solving important social issues in a timely manner. Therefore, we want to be proactive in developing civil technologies in our country. Civil Technology is the integration of technology into life, the path to a progressive future in building an open and democratic government that would act in the interest of our people!”, said Zahira Begaliyeva, Director of ITeachMe.

For more information, please contact Akmaral Karlybaeva, Project Manager at the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia, tel.: + (727) 2501810, akmaralk@ef-ca.org or Elnura Abakanova, Communications Officer of the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan, tel.: + (7172) 974567, Elnura.ABAKANOVA@eeas.europa.eu