Astana mayor: NGOs have become reliable partner of Govt
"We have gathered today at the City Civil Forum. The event is aimed at discussing the work done for the development of civil society in the capital. In addition, we should determine the main priorities in our actions to implement the social initiatives announced by our President in his State-of-the-Nation Address," said Mayor of Astana Bakhyt Sultanov.
According to Sultanov, NGOs, being the most developed institution of civil society, have become a reliable partner of the government. NGOs make a major contribution to tackling social issues, including the development of human capital.
"Today, the Mayor's Office of the capital, together with more than 30 NGOs, is implementing 66 large-scale socially important projects worth KZT 463 million. It is evident that the level of civil society development depends on the degree of its involvement in accomplishing the tasks of the entire state while respecting the interests of various social groups in society. Therefore, it is certain that the implementation of the social initiatives set out by the Head of State of our country, is possible only upon close cooperation between government agencies and NGOs through the development of a strong civil society," the mayor emphasized.
The mayor informed that in order to create conditions for the development of civil society, it is planned to create the Civil Initiatives Support Center that will operate in the format of a co-working center and be accessible for all NGOs.
Bakhyt Sultanov said that the Mayor's Office will support the participation of NGOs in the implementation of Nurly Zher, Nurly Zhol, and 7-20-25 Programs and awareness-raising activities.
"It is very important for us that NGOs of the capital do their part in the measures we are taking to ensure the introduction of new approaches to the development of the city. The role of NGOs in that regard is obvious. To this end, Zhasyl Yel student construction and youth labor groups have carried out successful work on the landscaping of the city. They employed 1,000 people and planted more than 3,500 trees," said the Astana mayor.
In addition, he stressed that the issues of strengthening statehood, preserving the continuity of generations are directly related to the spiritual and moral sphere.
"We can confidently say that we have positive changes in this field. We are successfully executing various programs to develop the culture of the capital. The Rukhani Janghyru program has won widespread support and gave a powerful impetus to the modernization processes in the society. We believe that these and other issues should not remain out of NGOs' eye," Sultanov emphasized.
The 8th National Civil Forum with the participation of the Head of State will be held at the end of November this year.
Recall that the Forum is held biennially to consolidate the efforts of the non-profit sector and government agencies through open dialogue. The 1st Civil Forum of Kazakhstan, which opened a new page in relations between the government and the non-governmental sector, took place in October 2003.