On December 10 and 14, 2021, final regional seminars were held in Jalal-Abad and Issyk-Kul oblasts for representatives of 47 municipalities (26 pilot AA of PSI Project and 21 pilots of the LSG Union) on the topic "Implementation of socially inclusive gender responsive (SIGR) policy at the local level", where more than 100 people (51 in Jalal-Abad and 54 in Issyk-Kul oblast), including the project team, experts, representatives of partner NGOs and representatives of the LSG Union.
The main purpose of this event was to provide expert support and recommendations for representatives of municipalities on finalizing and improving socio-economic development programs (SEDP).
During the seminar, the partners of the PSI project, representatives of local NGOs who worked in 21 selected pilot municipalities of the LSG Union in two oblast shared their experience. They made presentations on topics concerning: 1) difficulties and challenges in the development and improvement of SEDPs, taking into account socially inclusive and gender responsive aspects; 2) recommendations on the development of project proposals to attract additional funds for the implementation of SIGR measures in the SEDPs, with examples from developed SEDPs, based on their experience working with municipalities. Then the project experts A. Balakunova and A. Musaeva provided more detailed information about the results of peer-reviewed SEDPs, frequent mistakes, and also gave illustrative examples on the structure of SEDPs for a clearer understanding of the methodological guidelines. They also answered questions and conducted group exercises for the participants.
The second part of the seminar was devoted to the changes in the new law as well as the importance and necessity of forming a budget based on socio-economic development programs, which was presented by the representative of the LSG Union D. Aitbayev. During his speech, the expert also shared information about the upcoming plans of the Union aimed at strengthening cooperation with local self-government bodies.
At the end of the seminar, the participants listened to a presentation on the introduction of socially inclusive gender responsive measures in the field of services at the local level by the GSE and Knowledge officer of the PSI project, Zh. Abdyldaeva. Also, a short film about unpaid care work of women, which was prepared as part of the project, was presented.
The seminar also served as a platform for discussing the prepared programs, exchanging experience between the LSG bodies in this field, and discussing the 2018 Methodological Guideline on the possibilities to simplify and advance it if necessary.
An investment attraction specialist of Sary-Bulun AO, Alina Mootbekova, said that “At the moment, this topic is very relevant. We came specifically for this seminar from a remote Toguz-Toro district. Since we have been working intensively on the development of SEDP both with the working group and with the local people throughout the year, it was very interesting for us to listen to the opinion of experts. We seemed to do everything in consultation with NGOs, but nevertheless we were not sure whether our actions were right or wrong. And today we have received accurate, specific and accessible information from experts and from the project team. Now we understand our mistakes and achievements. Now we are ready to review and refine our programs taking into account the recommendations of experts.”
At the end of the seminar, the participants expressed their gratitude to the project for the opportunity to receive recommendations from experts and expressed their readiness to finalize their programs as soon as possible.
This event was organized within the framework the Public Service Improvement Project, funded by the Government of Switzerland and implemented by Helvetas Kyrgyzstan and the Development Policy Institute.