Today is the first day of 3-day training for the public organizations of Turkmenistan entitled “Strenthenning the organizational capacity of public organizations of Turkmenistan through self-assessment” organized jointly by the International Organization for Migration/UN Migration Agency, US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Eurasia Foundation (EF). The training brought together representatives of public organizations from various professional fields and different regions of Turkmenistan. The list of participants includes representatives from the Youth Union, the Women’s Union, National Red Crescent Society, the Nature Conservation Society, the Blind and Deaf Society, public associations “Keyik Okara”, “Yenme”, “Mashagala”, mountaineering club “Agama” and many others.

For many years, IOM is actively cooperating with public organizations that play an important role in implementation of the National Action Plan on Combatting Trafficking in Persons and strengthening NGO’s institutional capacity is one of the key components for their successful work. Current training provides leading Turkmen NGOs with an opportunity to learn methods of self-assessment that can guide NGOs on the path of self-development.

The components of organizational development include strategic planning, a system of effective management and understanding the needs of target groups, the introduction of standards that improve quality of products and services for target groups, training and development of employees and volunteers and strengthening financial sustainability. Effective communication and strengthening of an image, building of partnerships with government agencies, partners and business are also considered important components of organizational capacity. After completion of the training, nonprofit organizations possessed with knowledge and tools of self-assessment, will be able to identify areas and plan activities for strengthening their organizations.

As underlined by the international expert in the field of organizational development
Mr. Alexander Lyampert (Republic of Belorussia): “Evaluation and capacity building of personnel is an integral part of managerial objectives of any organization which want quickly and efficiently achieve their goals. That is also very important for NGO managers, whose goals are always aimed at solving serious socially significant problems, as well as their activities should be as transparent and effective as possible. This training aimed to give NGO leaders an insight about organizational development, how and why the capacity building is needed for organization, methodology of institutional assessment, as well as discussion about practical aspects of self-assessment. Participants will discuss planning and different ways to enhance the functioning of public organizations. Conducting training in a hybrid format, when one facilitator and group of participants participate remotely, and another group is offline, is very unusual, and challenging at the same time. I would like to thank the organization team for their flexibility, courage, and expertise to conduct such kind of event and wish them success in their future work”.

Ms. Ayshirin Orazberdiyeva, Chief Specialist of the International Cooperation Department of the Central Council of the Youth Society said: “The Youth Society of Turkmenistan actively implements the State Program of the State Youth Policy of Turkmenistan. The youth of our country actively works and cooperates with international organizations. Today, we are a friendly team of public organizations participating in the training "Strenthenning the organizational capacity of public organizations of Turkmenistan through self-assessment". The purpose of the training is to introduce international experience in conducting self-assessment of the organizational activities of public organizations. We will use the knowledge gained during the training in our organization. We hope that the three days of the training will be fruitful and useful for all of us.”

“Today, during the training we witnessed how much the participants were willing to share and discuss their experiences. That makes the training interactive and helps to keep lively dynamics. Obviously, there is a substantial interest and demand in further organizational development among Turkmenistan’s NGOs. This is the first such training that IOM organizes jointly with Eurasia Foundation and USAID and we hope that it grows into more strategic cooperation” – pointed out Mr. Azat ATAJANOV, IOM Head of Office in Turkmenistan.

The event takes place during June 1-3 in the conference hall of “Yyldyz” hotel.