Introduction to the Newsletter#15

Dear friends, colleagues, and partners!

2009 has come to its end. We would like to thank all of your for cooperation, support and being with us throughout the year!

In this issue of our newsletter we are summing up the results of the expiring year jointly with you. You can trace the whole range of activities supported by dvv international in 2009. It includes tourism which has spread from the southern region, Farish, to Nukus in the north. Also, there are courses for disabled women working from home; and the already well-known Adult Training Centers set up at colleges-partners of dvv international all over the country. 

In addition, our newsletter can inform you on activities of our colleagues from Armenia, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. You can see how successful cooperation with the German Development Service (DED) serves as a good example of joining efforts to support partners’ initiatives on site. 

We would like to draw your attention to yet another innovation. Last month our office launched the blog of dvv international where we are going to place all issues of our newsletter as well as other interesting information on dvv international’s activities. 

We decided to blog as this type of publication has a number of advantages, namely: 

• opportunity for keyword search for articles using search engines (Google, Yandex, Rambler, etc.);

• timeliness (interesting articles and announcements can be published prior to the official edition of newsletter in .pdf format);  

• innovation (if you become our reader, you will be able to always get up-to-the-minute information, send the articles you like to your friends, and do a number of other things…). 

Our organization blogs in two languages: English and Russian. 

Thus, to sum up we can say that the year 2009 has brought both effective results and changes, which enabled us to learn something new. Let us thank each other for our work and wish all of us a successful and interesting 2010! May it be full of memorable events! 

Wishing you a Happy New Year,

Team of dvv international,

Uzbekistan 

Project activities of dvv international in 2009

Every year the Representative Office of dvv international renders assistance to local partners in project implementation. The range of projects is broad and includes such areas as education, advanced training, environment, tourism, history, etc. This year, for example, one of the projects was "Tourism Development in Uzbekistan" implemented jointly with DED experts in three regions (Khiva, Farish, and Nukus). A number of activities were carried out under the project to develop tourism in those regions.  

Since 2008, the Representative Office of dvv international has been providing support to guest houses located in Farish region. This activity has been carried out jointly with the National Scientific-Training and Consulting Center (NSTCC) under National Company (NC) “Uzbektourism”. The educational component of the project comprised seminars, which contributed to upgrading of staff and improved capacity of guest houses. As a result, guest house hosts decided to unite into one organization LLC “Tabiati Farish”. To date, it includes six guest houses. Having united, they jointly settle the problems set; however, practice has indicated the need for a specialist to provide consultation support on site, study all the needs and problems, and implement the tourism development strategy in the region. Finally, a DED expert was invited to Farish region. This year, the project activity focused on improving the quality of services, advertising and attracting tourists; in addition, efforts were aimed at licensing of the services offered.

Our long-term partner in Khiva is the “Business and Tourism Development Center”, which has gained positive experience of working with DED experts, which resulted in efficient joint activity and fruitful cooperation. This year, advanced training courses have been organized for staff of catering facilities, hotels and museums at "ART" restaurant (also being a training center for personnel in restaurant business). 

The Republic of Karakalpakstan is not as frequently visited by tourists as, for example, Samarkand, Bukhara or Khiva. However, this region has a great capacity, and the situation has started changing recently. Historic monuments of the region, the Aral Sea and other attractive places have begun to attract more tourists. In this context, there is a pressing need for qualified specialists to work in tourism and service sectors.   

The proposal developed by a DED expert and LLC “Golden Heritage of Aral” included activities aimed to train guides and tourism operators, advertising, building tourism capacity, as well as joining efforts of all stakeholders interested in tourism development. 

In addition to tourism development activities, support was provided to courses for disabled women. A traveling training workshop was arranged and made it possible to train women from remote districts (Akmangyt). Some participants started to accept orders at home and earn income for their families even before completing the training.  

The Representative Office of dvv international continues to support the adult education program in the prison system. This year profession-specific and training courses have been delivered and enabled prisoners to acquire new knowledge and skills, and in some cases master a new occupation. Given the fact that project activities are implemented at a female prison, the courses are mostly conducted in the following occupations: seamstress, hairdresser, confectioner, etc. Within the short period of training women can learn to make items themselves. Based on results of each project activity, at year end the workshop participants demonstrate all the items made during the training.  

Moreover, this year Representative Office of dvv international has supported the workshop “Adult Training Methodology” for staff of regional departments of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  

The above activities are in demand and have produced good results. With our activities, we promote the ideas of Adult Education and Lifelong Learning and demonstrate that education can be accessible to everyone and brought closer to home. Currently, it is important to have knowledge and skills being in demand in the labor market since they help achieve the goals set. 

Makhbuba Saidakhmedova, 

Project Coordinator 

dvv international

New opportunities for Adult Training Centers at vocational colleges in Uzbekistan

Partnership of dvv international with vocational colleges, where adult training centers were opened as a result of the “INSTRUCT” project, could be characterized as long-term cooperation aimed to develop new approaches to training of various adult population categories.  

This is true! If the previous activity focused on training and retraining of unemployed population, now we strive to develop other forms of education, such as civic education aimed at personality development, language courses, arranging lectures, seminars and groups of interest, and advanced training for staff of local enterprises and farms. 

To ensure sustainable activities of adult training centers (ATCs), in 2009 dvv international stopped   direct financing of the courses and retained such tasks as professional development of personnel, promotion of education quality improvement and new areas of activity (see previous para.). Also, dvv international supported the ATC physical infrastructure development. 

It should be noted that not all ATCs are successful in promoting new educational offers for adults – if some ATCs actively started introducing new areas of training into their activities while preserving the “old” and long mastered ones, others report problems even with preserving their existing areas of activity. 

One of the main challenges associated with arranging fee-based courses for adults was that the ATC staff lacked relevant knowledge and skills in marketing, entrepreneurship and business planning. Thus, a decision was taken to carry out a series of trainings to implement the ILO program “Start and Improve Your Business” into the ATC activity (see the article by Mr. M. Khadaev for more information on those activities). 

Organization of “Summer schools” for heads and personnel of farms at ATCs of agricultural vocational colleges resulted in an individual project “Support to private agricultural sector in cooperation with colleges in Uzbekistan”, which is implemented jointly with the “MBM-Guruhi” company (see article by Ms. M. Kuchkarova for information  on this project). 

Training program for the course “Waiter-Barmen” has been developed and is planned to be implemented at four ATCs in the tourist regions of the country. 

In 2009, staff of dvv international and management of vocational colleges coordinated the issue of allocating special premises for ATC activities. This is about special rooms for the ATC office and classrooms for theoretical and practical sessions. We think that this will make it possible to arrange various courses in the daytime later on as previously ATCs could organize training in the evening only (when vocational colleges were not busy with their primary activity). 

Today we can state that the physical infrastructure required for successful operations of ATCs is available. 

We hope that the conducted activities will produce a positive effect to ensure sustainable activities of ATCs. 

Nodir Rahimov,

Project Coordinator 

dvv international

ILO training “Start and Improve Your Business” for staff of Adult Training Centers

How to make secrets of successful entrepreneurship publicly available, equip adult population with them and give people an opportunity to self-actualize – these are the issues considered and addressed within the framework of implementing a component of the project on setting up and development of Adult Training Centers at vocational colleges in Uzbekistan by introducing courses “Start and Improve Your Business” into their activities.

Enhancing the role of small business and entrepreneurship in economic development of the country, recognition of this objective as a priority of national development in Uzbekistan highlight the issues pertaining to arrangement of professional training for entrepreneurs. This segment of the educational services market is quite attractive to educational institutions and is of great interest to Adult Training Centers. However, occupying one’s niche and successful operations in this educational market segment require practical training programs and materials, as well as people able to train first-time and already working entrepreneurs. Even the shallow analysis of the current situation in the country makes it possible to draw a conclusion that, in general, most people starting their business have no knowledge of marketing fundamentals and have quite foggy ideas of organization of the business itself, procedures and principles of interaction of business environment and government agencies. If in developed market economies one can acquire entrepreneurship knowledge and skills at schools and colleges, in our country this opportunity is currently offered to population of the capital and regional centers where most business incubators as well as special training centers that can train beginners and already operating entrepreneurs are concentrated. Thus, mastering new training products designed for training of entrepreneurs by Adult Training Centers in Uzbekistan opens up ample opportunities for them to train adult population. The most important thing is that the country has a training product appropriate for this purpose, which has been developed and is being actively introduced by the International Labour Organization. This is the course “Start and Improve Your Business” (SIYB). Its implementation and use of ATC to train adult population are a good basis for business education development in rural areas. In this regard, one should take into account that in recent years the state has done a lot to provide all-round support to entrepreneurship, and actually the environment enabling almost every resident of Uzbekistan to self-actualize in entrepreneurship has been established. One small thing has yet to be done – to provide people with information on what is required to start own business, give them knowledge and form skills required for business operations.  

"What is the SIYB program, and why Adult Training Centers are interested in it? 

The program “Start and Improve Your Business” has been developed by experts of the International Labour Organization and is successfully used to train beginner and already operating entrepreneurs in over 80 countries all over the world. In Uzbekistan this program was introduced by the Market Skills Development Center, is used in practice and has been effectively operating for 9 years. In these years, the training has covered over 5,000 persons, and most program participants were the unemployed willing to start their own business. The course became popular and was taken by the trainees in all regions of the country. To date, more than a thousand of the program graduates have their own business and are successful entrepreneurs. This has become a reason to implement the idea to equip the ATC staff with the SIYB program being successfully used in adult training. The program’s distinctive feature is that it is simple and accessible, provided with training materials and can be used to train both first-time and already operating entrepreneurs. In its turn, the established ATCs, in addition to practical training courses for specialists in specific areas of activity, are able and willing to train all the interested persons in entrepreneurship fundamentals. In fact, vocational training of adult population combined with training in entrepreneurship and business organization skills in many ways improves chances of people, who underwent this training, for employment."

Certainly, the idea to train the trainers from among the ATC staff able to train persons willing to start their business is neither easy to implement nor simple. On the one hand, in the course of this project component implementation we have faced the challenge that the trainers to-be must have a clear picture of entrepreneurship and business, feel what it is and try their hands in business. This is an essential condition, which makes the project goals achievable, and training of beginners and already operating entrepreneurs at ATCs a real and promising activity. In this context, a decision was taken to carry out training of the ATC specialists to organize training in entrepreneurship using the SIYB course materials in two stages: start with giving the ATC staff knowledge of entrepreneurship and business fundamentals and then train them as the SIYB program trainers. Naturally, a number of training participants had already had some ideas of entrepreneurship. At the same time, having an idea is one thing, and another thing is to understand the details, knowledge of which will enable them to deliver practical training for prospective businessmen. 

That is why during the training in entrepreneurship and business fundamentals the ATC specialists first of all familiarized themselves in detail with skills and knowledge required for every businessman. Moreover, the methods selected for this training enabled the trainees to try the role of entrepreneurs, assess their entrepreneurial characteristics and skills, undergo the process of setting up their own business starting with search for and assessment of a viable business idea, development of the marketing concept, preparation of a business plan and ending with familiarization with registration procedures required for every first-time businessman.  

Another new and important element of training of the SIYB program trainers from among the ATC staff is that upon completion of the training in entrepreneurship and business fundamentals each participant developed his/her own business plan based on the knowledge acquired. Moreover, some of them prepared business plans to develop their ATCs, someone elaborated in detail and estimated the introduction of new training products, and others developed plans to implement specific business ideas in their regions. 

The most important thing in this process is that the course participants have mastered practical skills of using a solid approach to organizing a business based on planning and estimation of business activities. We are pleased to note that participants were interested deeply in this work rather than seeing it as a technical assignment. Business plans presented by participants demonstrated that the knowledge they had acquired was already used in practice and they could use the entrepreneurial approaches when organizing their own activities. 

The second stage of the ATC staff training was mastering methodology of the SIYB courses using interactive methods and teaching techniques.  

The trainees took the strongest interest in the role play “Ozzobulla” during which each participant tried the roles of a trainer and a trainee and, based on the achieved results and mistakes, could understand how to build the adult training process and what to take into account.  

Participants in the second stage of the workshop acquired skills of using various training forms and methods ensuring interactive practical application. The trainees not only studied them, but also could try the training techniques that make it possible for each adult trainee to feel comfortable and at the same time obtain skills and knowledge required for an entrepreneur. The participants could feel the advantage of the principle “it is easier and better to be trained while playing” when they familiarized themselves with and took part in the “Business game” being a part and an individual component of the SIYB course. Having been split into the “red”, “blue”, and “green”, by manufacturing and selling their own products the trainees could dive into the well-imitated entrepreneurial work, acquire the concepts of a business cycle and financial planning, and find out what numerous “contingencies” entrepreneurs could expect in the course of their business activity. Definitely, a game is not equivalent to a real situation; however, being aware of opportunities offered by such a game will enable participating first-time entrepreneurs to significantly reduce the number of their mistakes in the future, which means saving of their own money. This was the conclusion drawn by the ATC staff who very much appreciated the game as an essential component of the overall training course for beginner and already operating entrepreneurs, which they would introduce into their centers’ activities.

Summing up the training results, the participants were unanimous that the two weeks of training slipped away like two days. However, the value of obtained knowledge and training materials provides a real basis for organizing activities in many years ahead. What is required is persistence and patience to go through with it. Moreover, this activity is of utmost importance, since people feel the need for it; they will use the new services offered by ATCs, acquire knowledge that opens up a real opportunity to make use of entrepreneurial capacity intrinsic to our people. The state will benefit from this as well, as there will be more opportunities for self-employment and family business development; there will be more tax revenues, entrepreneurial sector will get stronger and develop as it is the basis of every market economy. 

Mikhail Khadaev,  

Deputy Director General,

Market Skills Development Center, 

Master-Trainer, ILO SIYB Program.

New project – new results. The project "Support to private agricultural sector in cooperation with colleges in Uzbekistan"

The project was launched in April 2009. The project is implemented by staff of “МВМ Guruhi” in partnership with Representative Office of dvv international.

The Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan declared the year 2009 the “Year of Rural Development and Improvement.” Undoubtedly, improvement of situation in rural areas, further gains in efficiency of the agricultural sector at this stage become especially important and topical. 

Currently, Uzbekistan has very few companies rendering consultation services to agricultural producers. Thus, this niche is relatively unoccupied. Farmers mainly obtain occasional support under various international projects and sometimes via government programs. There is no regular consultation agency able to render services with regard to economic, export, financial, legal and other issues to farmers. 

The project aims to train teams of trainers at seven vocational colleges to promote farming development.  

Objectives of stage one:

• Training of teachers – business trainers at three colleges. 

Objectives of stage two:

• Co-training of the trained trainers at four new colleges. 

Objectives of stage three:

• Coaching of the trained trainers at seven colleges during organization and carrying out of the “Summer School for Farmers.”  

To date, this project has trained three teams of business trainers: the first training aimed to upgrade them in methodology. To achieve this goal, the training of trainers (ToT) in “Interactive adult training techniques” was delivered in May.

Another training “Business planning for farms” pursued two primary goals: 

• Develop business planning skills;  

• Develop a program of three-day training in “Business planning” for farmers. 

This training was intense, animated and made use of interactive training methods. The training process was organized by the leading trainers of “МВМ Guruhi” so that participants had to take entrepreneurial decisions in specially tailored situations. It is the outcomes of such situations that promote acquisition of knowledge through feelings. 

The participants will use the obtained knowledge and skills when delivering training at the Summer School of Farmers, which is planned to be organized in three regions next winter.  

M.S. Kochkarova,

Project Coordinator 

Trainer-Consultant, “MBM Guruhi”

Cooperation of dvv international and DED with the association of guest houses LLC “Tabiati Farish” in Nurata region

The association of guest houses “Tabiati Farish” was founded by a local community that set up guest houses for tourists in 2006. The houses are located in the Nuratau mountains next to the Nurata Reserve. The association run by Komil Shakirov, Director, aims to improve tourist proposals and increase sales of services, as well as to provide organizational support for tourists wishing to visit the guest houses.

Moreover, the organization is interested in networking with other tourism actors and in service quality improvement. dvv international has supported LLC “Tabiati Farish”, first of all, by financing training programs for tourism service providers in Nurata region. However, at a certain stage the company “Tabiati Farish” identified the need for technical consultations and requested support from the German Development Service (DED), namely, providing the experts in tourism development. To strengthen the effect of technical and financial cooperation, two German organizations (dvv international and DED) signed an agreement on cooperation. The joint effort has resulted in a number of below activities. 

Collecting information on needs for training of guest house managers and on financing of planned activities

In June, following detailed discussions with all the participants, the training and financing needs of “Tabiati Farish” were assessed. The discussion addressed tourism operators’ initiatives and specialists’ observations, as well as tourists’ comments. 

Training for mountain guides to obtain the qualification “escort-guide”

Training of guides in the mountains of Farish region was an important part of service improvement. Before that none of the guides had a required license to do their jobs legitimately. After long negotiations, the educational department of National Company “Uzbektourism” expressed its willingness to design a training tailored to regional needs and characteristics. The training course was held in November 2009. All three participants passed the test and obtained the license of the “escort guide”, which grants them the right to work in Nuratau-Kizil-Kum area. 

Sharing experience to improve guest yurts in Otakurgan

To familiarize themselves with the proposal of a yurt camp in Nurata region being popular among major tourism operators, the team of “Tabiati Farish” took a two-day trip to the yurt camp jointly with its manager from Otakurgan.

After that, there was a joint discussion of options for improvement and the range of services offered by our guest houses. The team reached a conclusion that offers by guest houses in Nurata region differ considerably from those of the yurt camp targeting big tourist groups and thus it would be sensible to target small individual groups, which could be interested in getting to know the life of local people in villages in the Nuratau mountains. 

The below activities were supported by dvv international and DED.  

• Installation of signs on driveways to guest houses. Making signs to be installed at forked roads. Roads to “Tabiati Farish” information center and office in Yangikishlak will be marked the same way. 

• Updating of the website. The website of guest houses was updated. It is important to note that tourists increasingly use the electronic source of information. 

• Consultations for guest house owners on service improvement processes. Discussions with owners covered options to improve sanitary conditions, interior and equipment of bedrooms, as well as offering additional services to better meet expectations and fulfill wishes of international clients. 

• Consultations for prospective owners of guest houses. Three families from villages Sentyab and Eski Farish interested in the opportunity to host overnight guests were included in the consultation program. 

• Printing reference and visual materials on local flora and fauna. Currently, reference and visual materials are being designed for local guides and guest houses; these materials will help local tourist service providers and foreign guests to communicate.  

• Cooking course for guest house hostesses. The four-day cooking course was held at one of the houses in August to train hostesses in how to adapt traditional Uzbek cuisine to wishes and needs of foreign clients. 

• Registration of guests by “Tabiati Farish” organization. Cooperating partners support "Tabiati Farish" in establishing all facilities to be granted the right to register foreign guests. In January at the latest “Tabiati Farish” will be given a certificate of license from National Company “Uzbektourism”. 

• Setting up a network with other tourist organizations. In addition to establishing contacts with German and Uzbek tourism operators, representatives of hotel business in Samarkand were informed on the guest house services. Cooperation has already yielded its results. Hotels have sent a number of individual tourists to Nuratau and are going to include the services offered by “Tabiati Farish” in their program for 2010. 

Anna Lore,

Tourism Expert 

German Development Service (DED)

Tourism development in Karakalpakstan

Representative Office of dvv international has been successfully working on educational projects in Karakalpakstan for several years already.

One of the recent successful activities was the first training course for guides and tourism operators. Over 30 persons could take the training and acquire knowledge and skills in tourism. Based on the training results, one can say that qualified guides and tourism operators in Karakalpakstan will improve the quality of services and will be able to make additional income.  

The courses were organized by the social organization “Golden Heritage of Aral” and its staff, Daniel Lepetit, the expert of the German Development Service (DED), Karakalpak Bureau “Traveling and Excursions” and the National Scientific-Training and Consulting Center (NSTCC) under National Company (NC) “Uzbektourism”. This course could be implemented thanks to financial support from the DED and Representative Office of dvv international.  

This course is valuable because trainers of the NSTCC NC “Uzbektourism” developed a curriculum that makes it possible to train guides and tourism operators within a short period of time in line with all quality standards. The training program included not only theoretical materials, but also practical sessions. To carry out practical training, an excursion to museums and historic monuments was organized, and the participants even could try their hands during training. 

A characteristic feature of those workshops was that they were delivered by trainers from Tashkent and Karakalpakstan. Topics of the training program were distributed among trainers, and this joint effort was very effective and fruitful.  

Along with successful completion of courses, the participants will be given the official certificate of NC “Uzbektourism”. Thus, they will be able to work as guides-escort interpreters in a legitimate manner.  

Daniel Lepetit,

Tourism Expert 

German Development Service (DED)

Results of the dvv international’s activities in Ferghana Valley

The year 2009 has come to its end, and we would like to inform the readers of another issue of dvv international’s Newsletter on results of the activity in Ferghana Valley.  

In 2009, Representative Office of dvv international cooperated with two organizations in Andijan region: Business Incubator “Asaka” and regional representative office of Association “Khunarmand”. 

The above organizations conducted various vocational training courses for unemployed population.

Educational courses were provided in Kurgantepa City (a welding course), Asaka City (a sewing course), Andijan City (a sewing course), and near the border with Kyrgyzstan in Pakhtaoobad district (carpentry courses). 

In the end, 63 persons mastered new occupations and can find jobs or work from home.

A choice of professions was based on the labor market analysis in Andijan region, which ascertained lack of specialists in the area of welding, carpentry and garment manufacture.  

Every year, all goods produced at practical sessions were presented to low-income families and also to disabled children. This year was no exception as well.  

Various things happened during courses, including sad cases when a participant’s family hindered her from visiting classes; however, there were heartwarming events as well: joint journey to the country or happy eyes of children who received a new skirt or pants.  

We can state with confidence that the past year has been successful. And we would like to congratulate our readers on the coming 2010 and wish them all the best. 

Natalya Mirzakarimova,  

Project Coordinator  

dvv international

Training and retraining of andragogists in Uzbekistan

In 2008, dvv international supported the launch of the project “Training and Retraining of Andragogists at the Institute for Advanced Teacher Training and Retraining for the Secondary Specialized Vocational Education” (Zh.N. Yakubov, Leader, and G. Burkhanova, Coordinator) in Tashkent. The first year of project implementation resulted in the pilot course under the program “Training of specialists in adult training (andragogist-practitioner)”. 

A group of 15 teachers from vocational colleges and the Training Center for training and retraining of unemployed population under Tashkent City Khokimiyat studied the scope of activities of an andragogist-practitioner and acquired practical knowledge and skills in working with adults. The training was carried out by specialists of the Institute for Advanced Teacher Training and Retraining for the Secondary Specialized Vocational Education System (IATTR SSVE), having undertaken the training “Adult training methodology”. The training was held by Russian specialists Olga Agapova and Zhanna Timoshkova. 

In 2009, the activity under this project was continued (А.А. Zakirov, Leader, and N.F. Abdunazarova, Coordinator), and the target group was representatives of departments and advanced training centers at higher educational institutions of the country who were trained at the workshop for a month. The workshop was delivered by the IATTR SSVE specialists. 

The project goals for 2009 were identified as follows: 

1. Introducing the workshop trainees to:

• the science of adult education and current trends in adult education development in the world and in Uzbekistan; 

• psychological-teaching, methodological and general cultural content required for adult training; 

• up-to-date adult education technology and techniques. 

2. Changing attitude to pedagogue’s functions – from transferring knowledge to facilitation; 

3. Selecting methods to work with adults; 

4. Training in methodology and didactics of holding workshops given the trainees’ educational needs and capabilities; 

5. Improving competence in identifying a training goal given the life and educational needs and capabilities of trainees; 

6. Training and pedagogical design given the life goals, needs and capabilities of trainees. 

The educational program and training modules for the course “Training of Andragogists-Practitioners” was developed; it was designed for teachers of higher educational institutions working in the advanced training system. Moreover, electronic training manuals were prepared. The 144-hour (36 hours – theory, 48 hours – practice, and 60 hours – individual work) educational program “Training of Andragogists-Practitioners” for teachers of higher educational institutions working in the advanced training program was pilot-tested in the year end.  

The program consists of 8 modules:

• Current trends in adult education;

• Adult education technology and characteristics; 

• Psychology of adult education; 

• Key competencies of an andragogist; 

• Methods of working with adults; 

• Methodology and didactics of workshop delivery; 

• Development of educational programs for adults; 

• Pedagogical design. 

A list of references is annexed to each module. The form of final control was defense of a project paper. All participants were given certificates at the end of the training (see picture).

Trainees highly appreciated the workshop results. Their opinions were collected using a questionnaire. The project outcomes will be used in further practical activities of the IATTR SSVE. In particular, the activities are planned to be continued in the following areas: development and publication of educational-methodological, educational-didactic materials and training manuals in Russian and Uzbek, as well as carrying out of regional training workshops for practitioners of advanced training and adult education institutions. 

Irina Razilova,  

Project Coordinator  

dvv international

Nargiza Abdunazarova,  

Project Coordinator  

IATTR SSVE 

Adult Education Association of the Republic of Uzbekistan

What is the Adult Education Association of the Republic of Uzbekistan (AEARUz)? United interests, strengthened positions, supported idea, link between people sharing the same ideas, or development of continuous education principles? 

This is the first, the second and the third options altogether. The idea of setting up the Association originated and was supported by a group of education professionals sharing the same ideas. Life itself, or its development to be precise, dictates new and better ways to form a civil society. Lifelong education is not a slogan; it is the way forward for the society. In the long run, providing an opportunity to obtain additional education for adult population in line with its needs and requests is a guarantee of building a strong civil society. 

Recently, thanks to efforts made by the country’s leadership enjoying support from local and international organizations-stakeholders, namely, Representative Office of dvv international, the Adult Training Centers have been set up and operate at vocational colleges in different regions of Uzbekistan. As training bases for adult education develop and given the increasing interest of adult population in additional education, the role of nongovernmental, commercial and other organizations in adult education development is becoming stronger. The number of nongovernmental educational organizations of different ownership patterns is increasing. 

An essential result of this work is that representatives of all institutions in the country dealing with adult education have understood the need to join efforts to promote their interests, coordinate the activities, set up and develop the effective adult education network in Uzbekistan. 

Representatives of such agencies established an initiative group aiming to set up the Adult Education Association in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The initiative group included representatives of business organizations, training centers, consultation firms and other organizations.  

The key tasks of the initiative group were to attract attention of interested organizations to support and develop the idea of the AEARUz establishment, forming the image of the Association as an organization that unites, represents and supports interests and principles of adult education in Uzbekistan. 

The initiative to establish the AEARUz was supported by a number of organizations interested in adult education promotion, namely, by the Social Initiatives Support Fund. Possible cooperation and participation of the Center for SSVE in establishment and activities of the AEARUz are being discussed with specialists of the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan. 

The organizational structure of the AEARUz was determined as a voluntary association of various legal entities in order to develop adult education in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The draft Charter of the AEARUz stipulates that the AEARUz members can be educational and vocational training institutions, non-for-profit organizations offering various educational services on favorable terms or for free, commercial companies providing educational and vocational training services, Adult Training Centers, international and other organizations interested in continuous education in general and in adult education in particular. The supreme authority of the AEARUz is the General Assembly of the Association members determining all governing and working bodies of the Association. 

The initiative group representatives carry out consultations with relevant specialists and experts to prepare a package of documents and hope for support from the Ministry of Justice of the Republic for registration of the AEARUz. 

On behalf of the initiative group,

Umida Maksumova 

Patricia Rosenberg: Summary of internship at the Representative Office of dvv international in Tashkent

My work for Representative Office of dvv international in Tashkent started in Istanbul where I got acquainted with Elena Sabirova, Matthias Klingenberg and the network of the new project “Adult Education and Oral History” as a contribution to rebuilding of relations between Armenia and Turkey. It was an honor to me to join the project and start collecting information in the very beginning. 

There, I got extensive practical experience and familiarized myself with accompanying objectives, especially the oral history method in conflict management as well as  mediation techniques. 

During my stay in Tashkent, I think I could improve my knowledge of development programs in the best way, especially of projects on vocational education and lifelong learning (LLL). I had an opportunity to work independently and assume the responsibility; at the same time, other staff always took a serious attitude towards me. Teamwork was carried out in a warm and open working environment, and for me personally this will be an unforgettable and valuable experience. In addition, in the course of my work I participated in business trips several times (for example, to Armenia, Tajikistan). I was involved in discussions, important decision making and addressing work-related issues. 

I think that the most essential experience I have gained is that I realized the fact that training is not complete when exams are passed, and this is just a minor part and is equivalent to informal and non-formal lifelong training. This experience motivated me to always use an opportunity to acquire additional knowledge. 

I must say that during my internship I was always supported by the office staff and felt a part of the team; that is why I was quite easily introduced to the working life. 

I feel sad about leaving this office and this impressive country, but I feel that I have opened up new horizons, and I am full of new ideas and hopes. 

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all staff of Representative Office of dvv international in Tashkent for their exceptionally open and friendly attitude.   

Patricia Rozenberg,

Temporary Expert 

dvv international

Virtual exhibition under the project “A-MUSE-ALL”

In the previous issues of our newsletter we have already informed you on the start of the new project with a charming brief title “A-MUSE-ALL“ under the European Commission program “Investing in People: Access to Local Culture, Protection and Promotion of Cultural Diversity”. The full project title uncovers its essence: “Beyond Boredom, Dust and Decay – Museums as Life Long Learning Spaces for Intercultural Dialogue”. This project is implemented in Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Russian Federation and is designed to last for 30 months. The project is funded by the European Commission and the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The overall project budget is 550,000 euros. On behalf of the European Union, the project is implemented by the Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association (dvv international) and eight partner organizations from target regions. 

More information on local partners is available at the project web portal (http://www.amuse-all.net), which is already operational, but is still being updated with information on the project activities.

Currently, the works are being finalized to prepare and carry out the virtual exhibition “Daily Life in the Art” at this portal. Local partners from all the countries involved in the project are taking part in preparation of the exhibition. 

The goal of the exhibition is in line with the overall project goal and, on the one hand, is to show cultural differences among the countries participating in the project, and on the other, to demonstrate common values being the basis for the intercultural dialog. They include universal and democratic values, everything that makes it possible to fruitfully develop the ideas of lifelong learning in the museum space. As mentioned above, the exhibition will be placed on the project portal, and materials of the exhibition will be used in presentations of the project in European countries.   

The exhibition will include a collection of photos in the following areas: 

• works of art by contemporary authors; 

• daily life pieces;

• elements of traditional culture of everyday life; 

• photos of people “in the interior of everyday life values”.

Photos can be based on collections of museums and culture institutions participating in the project, as well as on the works already available to partners.  

Each of the four countries will present 40 pictures. The photos will be accompanied with information – list of photo titles and author’s name (in the national and English languages). 

The exhibition will be preceded by the “Introduction” aimed to inform the prospective portal visitors on the exhibition concept and provide relevant comments.  

Irina Razilova, 

Project Coordinator 

dvv international

Completion of the project “Non-Formal Vocational Training in Rural Areas of Kyrgyzstan”

The project “Non-Formal Vocational Training in Rural Areas of Kyrgyzstan” funded by the European Commission under the TACIS/IBPP Programme came to an end. The main applicant under this project was  the Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association (dvv international), which implemented this project jointly with the Kyrgyz Adult Education Association (KAEA) with the participation of 12 Adult Training Centers (ATCs) being the KAEA members, local authorities, migration and employment committees, as well as employers from several regions of Kyrgyzstan. 

The project activity was aimed at improving employment level and opportunities for income-generating activities for the unemployed and poor rural population by increasing the number of courses offered and improving access to training in multiple professional skills being in demand in the labor market.

National Conference organized in Bishkek on 15 October 2009 was the final project activity and provided an opportunity for partners from the regions covered by the project to share experience and specifics of organizing non-formal vocational education in their regions and villages. 

The conference aimed to present the project activities, its results and innovative approach to vocational training in rural areas of Kyrgyzstan. The conference initiated discussion about prospects of further development of non-formal vocational training for rural people and outlined plans for the future. Organizations-KAEA members discussed ideas for further development and introduction of project experience into long-term practices.

Levan Kvatchadze, Head of Representative Office of dvv international in Georgia, and Irina Razilova, dvv international Project Coordinator, took part in the conference. The experience of project activities in Georgia on non-formal vocational education development in the south of Georgia presented by Levan Kvatchadze aroused keen interest among the conference participants; in particular, they were interested in flexibility, creative approach, and innovativeness of non-formal vocational education development in southern Georgia.

The course graduates demonstrated handmade items produced at courses - dresses, skirts, felt goods and national clothes, and told the conference participants about their successes in training, what they had learnt and how they planned to use the acquired skills and knowledge in the future.

In addition, the conference participants watched videos about project activities in Karakol, Jalal-Abad, Osh, and Tokmok.

The project has completed, but vocational courses for rural people continue; however, now they are carried out by Adult Training Centers and supported by partners.

Nadezhda Romanenko,

Project Coordinator

Kyrgyz Adult Education Association 

Traveling workshop on adult education as a tool of adult education promotion in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan, like many other FSU countries, experiences a challenging stage of its development: economic decline, lack of jobs in the regions, low wages, substandard living conditions, escalation of internal and external migration, etc. In this context, social tension in communities is getting deeper and more severe. People believe in their future less and less, and they have fewer hopes that someday it will become easier and happier. Certainly, one cannot state that the country takes no efforts to improve the situation, and all mass media report them. However, common people do not feel any improvements in their lives. In this situation, it is impossible to sit on one’s hands and observe the hopelessness, which can be seen in everything. As they speak, “people in trouble are left to themselves”, that is why training centers operating in Chui region of Kyrgyzstan started working with all their enthusiasm and skills as professionals in the area of adult education.

In November – December 2009, dvv international provided financial support to the event titled “Training Workshop on Adult Education” organized in the cities of Bishkek, Tokmok, Belovodsk and Karabalta. This event aimed to attract attention of institutions forming the economy in the regions to addressing the major problem that people were facing at that moment – lack of jobs, and not just jobs, but those which could enable people to maintain their families. Within the framework of this event, we tried not only to attract attention, but also to arouse everyone’s interest in getting involved in development of a mechanism that could make use of adult education to help common people become decent citizens of their country and do not worry about their future. The expression “traveling workshop” is self-explanatory. We formed a mobile group comprising representatives of government agencies, business entities and social sector. First, this group forms its own opinion and ideas and moving from region to region it discusses the problem with local participants of the event and thus it collects various visions of problem handling methods, generalizes the collected information and develops the overall action plan.  

For example, in the above regions working meetings were organized at training centers where representatives of a number of small and medium enterprises as well as government agencies, who are not indifferent to common people’s lives in Kyrgyzstan, were invited. Overall, some 30 enterprises participated in the event including those combining a lot of commercial entities, i.e. entrepreneurs’ unions. 

Discussions covered numerous issues such as the quality of training, links of training with labor market, certification of training, financing of training, categories of target groups, their personal data and attitude to labor as an essential component of training, modern occupations and an opportunity for flexible approach to training of future employees, risks of financial investment in training of a prospective employee, business development through education, the role of state in the tandem of training and business, and a number of other issues.

In the course of the event, the participants were given the information on international trends in adult education and specifically on the activities of the Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association pertaining to lifelong learning promotion. This information was not only of interest to participants, but also contributed to understanding among the round tables participants, since information and examples of how people in developed countries think about improving common people’s lives through interaction among various organizations and achieve good results produced its psychological effect.   

As a result of animated discussions, representatives of business environment understood that their business directly depends on every person’s purchasing power. And the purchasing power depends on availability or lack of a good job, and in its turn a good job is impossible without good and quality training. Moreover, the training should be life-long. 

In addition to round tables, training centers organized various activities attracting local people’s attention to training centers themselves. Those activities were diverse, starting with organizations of master classes and ending with demonstration of training results of such courses as “Hairdresser”, “Seamstress”, “Cook”, etc. They all were organized to ensure visibility of educational activities carried out in Chui Regional Development and Training Center, Bishkek Development and Training Center, Karabalta Training and Development Center, and Belovod Adult Training Center.  

Seemingly, the “Traveling Workshop on AE” will yield its results in the near future, as during the event various agreements on joint plans for educational activities were reached by the participants. Currently, the formed group is working on the strategy of cooperation with all interested regional organizations for several years to come. 

Rima Toktobekova,

Program Manager 

Kyrgyz Adult Education Association 

Wrap-up conference “Looking into the future: goals and resources of basic vocational education development in Tajikistan”

On 19 November 2009, the conference-hall of “Tajikistan” Hotel in Dushanbe hosted the wrap-up conference on the dvv international project “Support to Vocational Education in Tajikistan – Stage 2” funded by the European Union “Looking into the future: goals and resources of basic vocational education development in Tajikistan – Stage 2”. 120 persons participated in the conference. The conference participants included representatives of institutions interested in basic vocational education development in Tajikistan – representatives of employers, ministries and agencies of Tajikistan, Executive office of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, international organizations and projects. Also, the conference participants were representatives of the Ministry of Education, the Republican Educational-Methodological Center, Institute for Advanced Training and Retraining of the Academy of Education of Tajikistan, pilot basic vocational education institutions, and departments of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Tajikistan. Special importance of this event was emphasized by participation of Ms. Charlotte Adriaen, Chargé d'Affaires to the Delegation of the European Commission to Tajikistan, Ms. Doris Hertrampf, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Tajikistan, Mr. Trevor Charles Moore, Ambassador of Great Britain to Tajikistan, Mr. Roland Schwartz, Director of dvv international, and Mr. Uwe Gartenschlaeger, Deputy Director of dvv international.

In his speech, Mr. A. Rakhmonov, Minister of Education of the Republic of Tajikistan, noted that the Ministry of Education highly appreciated and approved the activities of the dvv international’s project “Support to Vocational Education in Tajikistan – Stage 2” funded by the European Union. He also mentioned the key areas for development of basic vocational education in Tajikistan, the role of the European Union, the Federal Republic of Germany and Great Britain, as well as international organizations supporting education reforms in Tajikistan. 

Important aspects of basic vocational education development in Tajikistan were presented in the speech “Goals and resources of basic vocational education development in Tajikistan” by F.K. Rakhimov, First Deputy Minister of Education of the Republic of Tajikistan. His report informed the audience on the current status of the basic vocational education system and the key areas of its development. An essential role was assigned to development of basic vocational education institutions’ initiatives and promotion of social partnership at regional, national, and local levels. 

Presentation by A. Jakobsone, Project Leader, “Key project results and vectors of the long-term basic vocational education development in Tajikistan” highlighted priority areas of basic vocational education development. They are strengthening of basic vocational education with qualified personnel, closer cooperation of educational institutions with employers, improvement of physical infrastructure and educational-methodological bases in this area. Introduction of module training programs developed under the project into the system and strengthening of institutions supporting the basic vocational education – Republican Educational-Methodological Center and the Institute for Advanced Training and Retraining of the Academy of Education of the Republic of Tajikistan are essential as well.    

The conference participants were given the key conclusions and recommendations based on results of the analysis of the basic vocational education institutions management network carried out by local experts F. Saidov and V. Niyatbekov. The need to revisit the personnel training structure with regards to labor market requirements in Tajikistan, to change the financing format of basic vocational education institutions, and to optimize the network of those institutions was mentioned.  

Mr. Abdukadirov, Director of pilot technical vocational school №31 in Khujand, made the report “Education quality improvement: uniting local and international resources”. Using the experience of interacting with social partners gained under the project, he informed the audience on the experience of organizing practical training at LLC “Muin”. Also, he noted that this activity made use of practical training modules developed under the project of dvv international. 

Presentation by Mr. Tyuryaev, Director of the Association of Scientific and Technical Intelligentsia of Tajikistan “Opportunities to develop adult education approaches in the basic vocational education system in Tajikistan” analyzed options to introduce adult education at existing basic vocational education institutions, which are available in Tajikistan and used by social organizations. Moreover, information on using those options under the project “PATENT” being implemented in cooperation with dvv international was provided. 

We consider interesting the discussions that accompanied the conference participants’ activities at the panel discussion “Cooperation as a resource in basic vocational education development”. Representatives of educational institutions could directly communicate with employers and hear from them their requirements to graduates of basic vocational education institutions. 

To discuss the key issues raised during the program report by F. K. Rakhimov, three groups were organized: group 1 – Improving quality of practical training: problems and solutions; group 2 – Development and implementation of module training programs: first experience and next steps; and group 3 – Strengthening of social partnership in basic vocational education and training at national, regional, and local levels. The conference participants in smaller groups discussed their achievements and problems pertaining to the above issues.  

The conference participants adopted the resolution specifying the problems faced by the basic vocational education system in Tajikistan and providing the key recommendations for this sector development in the country. 

As handouts, the conference participants were given module training programs, Guidelines for active training methods “Be. Know. Can.”, “Guidelines for development and introduction of module training programs in Tajikistan”, CD with documents of international projects on basic vocational education (2004-2009), a collection of information materials on the basic vocational education system including a catalog of basic vocational education institutions, video “Be. Know. Can.” and other materials. 

During the event, a press conference chaired by Mr. A. Rakhmonov was organized for mass media professionals. Ms. Charlotte Adriaen, Chargé d'Affaires to the Delegation of the European Commission to Tajikistan, Mr. F.K. Rakhimov, First Deputy Minister of Education of the Republic of Tajikistan, and Mr. M. Shodiev, Head of the Department for basic and secondary vocational education of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Tajikistan, gave speeches at the press conference.

Farkhod Sadykov,

Deputy Group Leader 

Project “Support to Vocational Education in Tajikistan – Stage 2” 

Support and development of work from home in Tajikistan

On 3 November 2009, Dushanbe hosted a round table on “Support and development of work from home” supported by dvv international and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection. 

The round table participants were some 30 representatives of various ministries, and local and international social organizations. The round table was held in Tajik and Russian languages and was covered by TV and press representatives. The round table organizers aimed to make a first step to discuss the development of work from home in Tajikistan to improve living standards of the population. 

Several participants made reports which aroused a general discussion. 

Mr. Umed Ziedaliev, staff of the Ministry of Labor, set examples of various countries using work from home. The challenge faced by Tajikistan in this area is that work from home exists, but registration, statistics and legal protection of home workers are non-existent. 

Relevant legal issues of the applicable Labor Code were covered by a lawyer participating in elaboration of the new draft Labor Code of Tajikistan. The new Labor Code, which will take account of home workers’ rights, is planned to be approved in 2010. The problem of relationship between a private hirer and a home worker was raised, as the mechanism of control over relations between a home worker at someone else’s house and a hirer had not been worked out. The issue of non-compliance with the laws was discussed as well. Representatives of the Ministry of Justice made a proposal to develop a mechanism for interaction and control. In the course of this discussion, an issue was raised about qualification of the social protection agency personnel and poor awareness of people of their rights and social protection. Overall, the Social Protection Agency has 67 employees, and, according to staff of the Republican Statistics Department, only 10% of individual entrepreneurs is registered, which accounts for some 120,000 people. The population needs information on its social protection rights. Currently, no government authority disseminates this information. Individual entrepreneurs are even unaware that they can register labor books at tax authorities. A conclusion suggested itself, and the whole audience agreed that Tajikistan had no registration of home workers at all, neither at statistical agencies, nor at tax authorities. 

The new Labor Code will take into account items of the International Labor Convention. Presentation by Mr. Khurshed Saidov, representative of the Entrepreneur Support Association in Dushanbe, touched upon education sector. Currently, in Tajikistan private educational services must be licensed by the Ministry of Education. This is a barrier to promotion of educational services. It was suggested that such teachers be categorized as private entrepreneurs without a license. Representatives of the Ministry of Education and staff of tax authorities agreed on that. A representative of the Tax Committee assured the audience that they would take into account all the proposals and discuss them at their meetings. In addition, it was suggested that the Ministry of Labor should send a letter to the Tax Committee and inform it on the changes introduced into the new Labor Code, so that the Tax Code could be modified at the same time. Otherwise, introduction of the new Labor Code will not be possible.  

The round table discussed the concept of “work from home”. If previously this concept was required to denote physically demanding and semi-skilled labor, now this category includes highly skilled labor: computer operators, cooks, and teachers. Work from home improves social employment of disabled and sick people, and provides an opportunity to upgrade professional and technical skills of population.  

The round table resulted in a recommendation for the Ministry of Labor to set up a working group to perform analysis and prepare recommendations for oncoming laws. State authorities approached international and local social organizations with a request to help them address those issues. A proposal to ratify Convention 177 of the International Labour Organization was declined due to the fact that regulation mechanism for work at home had yet to be developed.  

Zarina Khalikova,

National Coordinator in Tajikistan, 

dvv international 

Publication of the book "Training for a Better Life" in Russian

This year, dvv international has published the 62th book “Training for a Better Life: Projects on Vocational Education and Training in Transformation Countries” of the series “International Perspectives in Adult Education”.  

The reports, studies and materials published in this series aim to further the development of theory and practice in the work of adult education centers as it relates to international aspects of adult education – and vice versa. The authors hope that by providing access to information and communication channels, the series will serve to increase knowledge, deepen insights and improve cooperation in adult education at an international level.

Now the publication is available in both English and Russian languages.   

Electronic version of the book in Russian. 

Electronic version of the book in English. 

This book is available free of charge at the Representative Office of dvv international in Tashkent. 

Publication of the book "European Adult Education outside the EU"

The reports, studies and materials published in this series aim to further the development of theory and practice in the work of adult education centers as it relates to international aspects of adult education – and vice versa. The authors hope that by providing access to information and communication channels, the series will serve to increase knowledge, deepen insights and improve cooperation in adult education at an international level.

Currently, the new publication is available in English only.

This book is available free of charge at the Representative Office of dvv international in Tashkent.