Local Committee members equipped with tools to encourage and guide the youth-led community initiatives

More than 20 representatives of state and public organizations including selected young people in Lebap and Dashoguz velayats participated in a three-day Training of Trainers to get a step-by-step guidance on the development of the community-based initiatives using the results-based management and youth participation methodologies. 

The UN-Government Joint Programme aims to empower and engage youth in Lebap and Dashoguz regions by planning, designing and implementing four community initiatives together with representatives of state and public organizations in these regions. The initiatives will integrate the human security approach and focus on insecurities of the most vulnerable groups of people in Lebap and Dashoguz velayats, in line with the principle of “leaving no one behind.”

“I hope that the application of results-based management approach by youth volunteers to project design and implementation will ensure that the program initiatives will be more effective, efficient and better address the needs of vulnerable groups of population,” said UNFPA International Expert Elena Pozdorovkina who designed and facilitated the Training of Trainers.

The training equipped the participants in velayats with tools to guide young people in the development and management of their initiatives, including the conducting of the needs assessment, developing a vision statement,formulating the goals and objectives applying SMART criteria, theory of change and ensuring monitoring and evaluation.

Next series of trainings will take place in July and will gather more than 40 volunteers from the youth reference group in each velayat to develop and deliver the youth-led community-based initiatives during the next three months, applying the protection and empowerment framework to address multi-dimensional risks of the pandemic. The Local Committees will guide and support the youth-led initiatives, and further collect and preserve all knowledge and practices developed and gained under the Joint Programme to ensure the sustainability of its results.

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The UN-Government of Turkmenistan Joint Programme on “Empowering and Engaging Youth in Mitigating the Threats of the Health Pandemic” funded by the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS) and Participating UN agencies (UNFPA, UNICEF, UNODC and OIM), is aimed at strengthening the dialogue between young people and decision-makers by promoting community cohesiveness, livelihood and dignity. Human security approach is used as an optimal framework as it develops a holistic set of interventions that are people-centred, context specific, comprehensive and prevention oriented. 

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund and the Ministry of Sport and Youth Policy of Turkmenistan are the lead agencies in the Joint Programme. Coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, other implementing partners are UNICEF, IOM, UNODC and Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Healthcare and Medical Industry, Institute for State, Law and Democracy, Office of the Ombudsman, as well as public organizations and local NGOs working with the communities.

Contact information

Nataliya Chemayeva

Joint Programme Manager, UNFPA

Email to: chemayeva@unfpa.org