The match-making event, to be organized by ACTED in the framework of the Uzbekistan’s Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Empowerment and Promotion Project (UCEPP), funded by the British Embassy in Uzbekistan, will (i) review achievements and constraints faced during the first phase of the project (ii) finalize project outcomes (iii) consider and work on beneficiaries’ feedbacks, and (iv) provide a platform to increase awareness on existing NGOs. For this event, ACTED intends to gather Uzbek NGOs that participated in the project, donors, development and research organisations and the private sector to establish linkages and share ideas.
Uzbekistan CSO Empowerment and Promotion Project (UCEPP), aimed at improving local governance in Uzbekistan by enhancing the capacity of local CSOs, to help them to act as sustainable development actors.
According to the Report of the Independent Institute for Monitoring the Formation of Civil Society (IIMFCS), ACTED’s partner on this project, the number of NGOs operating in Uzbekistan has increased from 4,949 to 7,866 over the past five years. The Government of Uzbekistan increasingly recognizes CSOs as important actors of local governance. Moreover, the 2017-2021 Sustainable Development Strategy sets the goal of strengthening CSOs and promoting their role in society. However, the weak management capacity of CSOs restricts their development and growth. According to experts from IIMFCS and NANNOUZz, local CSOs are largely unaware of available opportunities for resource mobilization and have poor skills and little practice in attracting foreign investment.
Within the project activities and with the aim to set up an online web map of all CSOs located in Uzbekistan, ACTED has surveyed 1,500 CSOs. Moreover, a training was organized by ACTED and around its flagship GOCA methodology to increase the capacities of six local experts (four from the IIMFCS and two from NANNOUZz) and to promote best management practices for CSOs.
“CSOs are of great importance when it comes to national development and the Uzbekistan CSO Empowerment and Promotion Project is an important first step in fostering good governance and civil society in Uzbekistan,” said His Excellency Mr. Christopher Allan, British ambassador to Uzbekistan.
“The GOCA tool is very well structured. Selected CSOs were assessed on five main aspects of their organisational and operational development based on the 5-levels indicator system. The tool can be self-administered by each public organisation and facilitates dialogue between members of CSOs and external facilitators, thus helping capacity-building,” said Mr. Gulyamov Miraziz, IIMFCS expert.
Since 1993, as an international NGO, ACTED has been committed to immediate humanitarian relief to support those in urgent need and protect people’s dignity, while co-creating longer-term opportunities for sustainable growth and fulfilling people’s potential. ACTED is present in 37 countries and 4,700 staff are dedicated to implement 500 projects per year, thus reaching around 11 million beneficiaries. In Central Asia, ACTED is engaging across the organisation’s three core pillars: responding to emergencies and building disaster reliance; strengthening civil society, effective governance and social cohesion; and promoting inclusive and sustainable growth.
Contact:
Dilfuza Zakirova
Area Manager
E-mail: Dilfuza.zakirova@acted.org
Tel: +998 90 961 57 77
ACTED Uzbekistan
6/54, Osiyo str. 100000 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Tel: +998 711 501 451
Website: www.acted.org/en