EU supports local self-governance in Mangistau region
The primary goal of the project is to strengthen the role of citizens and non-governmental organizations in the promotion of local self-governance in rural communities, through capacity building of local residents and civil servants. The 36-month project is made possible by the financial support of the European Union, and the partnership of regional and district-level governments and NGO Resource Centers in the Mangistau region, the official website of the Delegation of the European Union to Kazakhstan reads.
The project aims to promote the adoption of new methods for local self-governance in rural communities in the Munaili and Tupkaragan districts of Mangistau oblast, through capacity building and local economic development.
The following results were achieved during the first year of the project:
Regional-, district-, and village-level working groups created;
Training module series implemented in seven villages of Munaili (Batyr, Bayandi, Kyzyltobe, and Mangistau) and Tupkaragan (Akshukur, Bautino, and Fort Shevchenko) districts; participants gained new knowledge and skills about the practice of local self-governance;
Working group meetings held for collaborative village development planning, during which members identified the most pressing community issues to be addressed;
Informational brochures on self-governance developed and distributed;
Consultations provided to project participants on self-governance policy and practices;
Dialogue platforms organized, with participation from representatives of the Ministry of National Economics; dialogue centered around the challenge of local self-governance promotion in rural regions.
The first year of the project culminated with the development of 7 collaborative village development plans in Munaili and Tupkaragan districts. The second year of the project will expand the program model to an additional 6 villages, with the support of local residents. A "Start Up" competition will be launched to award funding to local businesses and entrepreneurs with initiatives supporting the goals of local village development plans.