An NGO Development Conference, with approximately 200 attendees will be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on November 8-11, 1994. This event is sponsored by the Uzbekistan United Nations Office, World Learning, through funding from USAID, and the Red Cross. It will be coordinated by PERDCA (Project for Economic Reform and Development in Central Asia).

Conference organizers believe that support for the fledgling NGO sector is vital for promoting economic and social development in Uzbekistan and the region. An important beginning of this continuing effort in Uzbekistan was the United Nations Office Conference on Urgent Human Needs in January 1994, at which specific follow-up to address NGO issues was mandated. The upcoming conference responds to this mandate and at the same time will provide indigenous NGOs with concrete upport for their endeavors.

Attendees will include representatives of the Uzbek government, international donor organizations, international NGOs, and indigenous NGOs from Uzbekistan and the rest of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet other groups with similar goals and also interact with various Uzbek officials. Using case studies, breakout sessions and panel discussions, practical techniques will be applied to addressing concrete barriers to the strengthening of this important sector of the Uzbek economy.

The active participation of the international technical asssistance community is vital to the success of this conference. The opportunity to meet so many groups in one location is unprecedented. Following are some of the ways that organizations can participate:

1. Send a representative to be an active participant in all the interactive sessions and training exercises incorporated into the agenda.

2. Consider providing a facilitator to lead small group breakout discussions on the strengths, weaknesses and problems facing indigenous groups throughout the region.

3. Consider presenting a case study illustrating the success of NGOs in addressing social problems or the importance of some aspect of organizational development.

4. Contribute resource materials for use by local groups to be distributed at the conference. The material could be directly related to a portion of the agenda or supplementary.

5. Make recommendations or consider sponsoring an expert speaker to address one of the topics in the agenda or contribute to one of the panel discussions.

6. Suggest indigenous groups that could be invited to attend.

Lorel Donaghey,
Acting Regional Director
E-mail: [email protected]

or

Shukhrat Arifdjanov
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel/fax: (3712) 45-54-97

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