The European Union has started funding 3 projects under the «Non State Actors in Development» programme, for a total amount of EUR 700 000.

The new thematic programme «Non State Actors and Local Authorities in Development» was introduced in 2007. It aims to support small scale initiatives by civil society organizations (and local authorities) from the European Union and partner countries in the area of development. The overarching objective of this programme is poverty reduction in the context of sustainable development, including the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals. The programme is actor-oriented. It aims at strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations as a pre-condition for a more equitable, open and democratic society through support to their «own initiatives».

The three selected projects are as follows:

A two-year project entitled as “Enhancing living standards and food safety of rural people through access to improved veterinary services”,implemented by the Association of Veterinarians of Tajikistan (TVA), a civil society membership organization representing veterinary professionals and their livestock-owning clients. The main aim of the project is to reduce rural poverty through sustained delivery of public and private veterinary services thereby reducing disease losses and making livestock more productive. The project will assist TVA to strengthen over 800 Veterinary Field Units (VFUs) through capacity building and training, particularly in livestock production,, provision of basic veterinary equipment and funds for clinic rehabilitation, improving partnership with farmers and with the State Veterinary Inspection Service, establishment of 30 new VFUs where appropriate, , and supporting national and local veterinary professional associations. The project will be implemented in Khatlon, Sughd, GBAO and DRD regions of Tajikistan. The main beneficiaries of the project will consist in rural animal owners, including female-headed families (about 830,000 families).

The purpose of the project «Access, self-management and accountability – supporting Water User Associations in Tajikistan’s irrigation water reform» implemented by Welthungerhilfe is to complete previous efforts by formally putting operation and maintenance of irrigation infrastructure in the hands of water users. The action will take place in the densely populated lowlands of Panjakent district in Zeravshan Valley. It works with and through 21 Water Users Associations (WUAs) as well as with their umbrella organization, the federation of Water User Associations. These structures represent approximately 40,000 households, which rely on irrigated agriculture for their livelihood. It is anticipated that improved organization, reduced water losses in irrigation channels as well as an enhanced capacity to operate and maintain the irrigation network will lead to a direct and measurable benefit for the population at large (about 140,000 individuals).

Handicap International’s new project is entitled «State and Non-State Actors: Capacity-building, coordination and cooperation towards inclusive development in the Republic of Tajikistan». The strengthening of capacities of following four partnering Disabled People Organisations (DPOs) is at the core of this two year operation: National Union of Disabled People of Tajikistan, Women’s League Ishtirok, Public Organization of Deaf People of Tajikistan, Public Organization of the Blind in Tajikistan as well as their branches and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in and around Khorog, Khujand and Dushanbe. Their technical capacities will be further strengthened in disability and inclusion, advocacy strategies, diplomacy & communications skills, organisational capacities and accountability, through training and a learning-by-doing approach. The unity of the disability movement will be further enhanced to reinforce dialogue and effective cooperation with local authorities and other non-state actors (NSA) for the promotion and implementation of inclusive strategies, policies and actions. 

The European Union, composed of 27 Member States, is the world’s biggest aid donor. Tajikistan gets the main share of bilateral assistance in the Central Asian region (€66 million for 2007-2010 and 62 million for 2011-2013) in support to sector programmes, technical assistance and grants. It focuses on social protection, health and private sector development, underpinned by public finance management. Tajikistan also receives regional and thematic assistance in areas like border management and drug control (BOMCA/CADAP), education (TEMPUS, Erasmus Mundus), water / environment, migration, human rights and democracy (EIDHR), non-State actors (NSA) and SME development (CA-Invest). The total value of EU assistance disbursed to Tajikistan since 1992 is over €550 million.

Contacts: Ms. Mahbuba Abdullaeva, Press and Information Officer, EU Delegation to Tajikistan

Address details: 74 Adhamova Street, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 734013

Tel: ( +992 37) 221 74 07 — Fax: (+992 37) 221 43 21 —  E-mail: Mahbuba.Abdullaeva@eeas.europa.eu

Website: www.deltjk.ec.europa.eu, follow us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EUinTajikistan 

January 16, 2013

The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs

and

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute North America

The George Washington University — Elliott School of International Affairs’ Central Asian Program (CAP) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute North America (SIPRI North America) are pleased to welcome applications for their Central Asia Fellowship Program. Applications for the Spring session (March 1- August 1, 2013)

The CAP-SIPRI North America Central Asia Fellowship Program is intended for young professionals-scholars, government officials, policy experts, human rights and democracy activists from Central Asia — who want to enhance their research and analytical skills and seek to become public policy leaders in their respective countries. More generally, the fellowship program seeks to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and build lasting intellectual networks between the Central Asian and the US scholarly and policy communities.

Fellows, who will be funded, will spend five months in residence at the GW Elliott School and/or SIPRI North America. They will be offered a series of tailor-made programs and introduced to US policy and expert communities in both Washington DC and New York. Fellows are required to attend approximately 12 seminars, workshops and training sessions, write one policy brief on the predetermined theme and present their research at two public seminars. Throughout their fellowship Fellows are closely mentored and guided by Central Asia Program and SIPRI North America staff.

January 18, 2013

January 17, 2013

Journalists from around the world who are interested in sharing, expanding and researching public policy and political affairs can apply for this fellowship.

The Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government is accepting applications for the Joan Shorenstein Center Fellowship.

Applicants must be journalists, scholars or policymakers active in the field of press, politics and public policy. English fluency is required.

Fellows are required to live in residence for one semester, and will receive a US$30,000 stipend disbursed in four installments over the semester. Travel and living expenses are not covered by the center.

Office space, computer, printer and telephone are provided. To apply, send a cover letter, a completed application form, a research project proposal, a curriculum vitae/resume and recommendations.

The deadline is February 1.

For more information, click here: http://shorensteincenter.org/fellowships/fellowship-application/

Professional and amateur photographers can participate in a contest on human rights.

The annual FotoEvidence Book Award will recognize a documentary photographer whose project demonstrates courage and commitment in addressing a violation of human rights, a significant injustice or an assault on human dignity.

The winning project will be published in book form, as part of a series of FotoEvidence books dedicated to photographers whose commitment and courage create an awareness of social injustice. The photographer will receive royalties on book sales.

Photographers should submit up to 15 images from one project along with a US$50 entry fee. (That fee may also be waived by writing to contest organizers.)

Applications are accepted until January 15.

For more information, click here: http://www.fotoevidence.com/book-award

Journalists working in the United States, Canada and Mexico can apply for a US$5,000 award.

The Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism honors the highest-quality environmental reporting about the North American West, which includes the U.S. west of the Mississippi River, Canada west of Ontario, including Nunavut, and all of Mexico.

Entries are open to professional journalists throughout North America, as well as students, citizen journalists and those from startups and nonprofits.

Relevant topics include water and other natural resources, wildlife and habitats, regional planning, energy, environmental change and interstate and transnational environmental issues.

The prize is awarded at the annual Knight-Risser Prize Symposium at Stanford University.

Apply by March 15.

For more information, click here: http://knightrisser.stanford.edu/eligibility_guidelines.html

Authorities in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have rejected batches of textbooks earmarked for schools serving their Tajik minorities after they were printed with pictures of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Tajik national symbols.

Tajik media reports on January 8 said that the shipment of about 10,000 textbooks for Tajik schools in Kyrgyzstan was suspended at the request of the Kyrgyz authorities.

Tajik Deputy Education Minister Farhod Rahimov told journalists on January 7 that talks on reprinting the textbooks were being held with the Kazakh and Kyrgyz authorities. Kyrgyz parliament members confirmed that information to journalists in Bishkek on January 8.

According to Tajik media, the textbooks will be reprinted with pictures of the presidents of the country where they will appear.

Traditionally, secondary-school textbooks in post-Soviet Central Asia have texts of the national anthems, flags, and pictures of the presidents at the beginning. The tradition goes back to Soviet times when a portrait of Vladimir Lenin greeted the reader.

In recent years, a personality cult has been growing around Tajik President Rahmon, who is addressed as «your excellency» by government employees and portrayed by the state media as something akin to a monarch.

In late December, Tajikistan’s state movie producer, Tajikkino, released amulti-DVD collection of documentaries on Rahmon’s rule over the last 20 years. According to RFE/RL’s Tajik Service, Tajikkino was forcing some vendors to stock the collection.

The ethnic Tajik minorities are very small (less than 1 percent) in both Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and certainly not a cause for any insurgency concerns. But with still-fresh memories of 2010 ethnic clashes in Kyrgyzstan and the rising personality cult of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, neither country likes the idea of its minorities aligning with political leaders in neighboring countries.

In recent days, cracks have appeared in Central Asia’s complex ethnic mosaic with a hostage crisis in an Uzbek exclave within Kyrgyzstan.

Residents of Sokh, who are Uzbek citizens and mostly ethnic Tajiks, clashed with Kyrgyz border guards over the installation of power lines at a border post. Thirty Kyrgyz citizens were taken hostage but subsequently released.

The repressive Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan has passed a new law guaranteeing freedom of the media.

The law, which came into effect on January 4, states that «nobody can prohibit or impede the media from disseminating information of public interest» and that citizens of Turkmenistan have the right to use any form of media to express their opinions.

The new law also prohibits censorship.

Turkmenistan routinely ranks among the worst countries in the world in terms of media freedom, with the United Nations describing the state as wielding «absolute» control over the country’s television, newspapers, and magazines.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov is a shareholder in nearly all of the country’s leading newspapers.

Turkmenistan’s first private newspaper, «Rysgal,» was launched in 2011 by one of the government’s two political parties.

Based on reporting by ITAR-TASS and Golos Rossii