The Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia (EFCA) is a public organization founded in the region in 2005 with the aim of increasing civic engagement, developing private entrepreneurship, education and public administration in Central Asia with offices in Almaty, Bishkek, Osh and Dushanbe.
On April 18-20, 2023, Civic Tech Camp was held in Almaty. This is a project to strengthen the role of youth and women in order to ensure a responsible, participatory and inclusive approach at all levels of decision-making in Kazakhstan. The project received a grant from the European Union within the framework of the thematic program “Civil Society Organizations and Local Authorities”. EFCA organized the project “Your Voice Matters. Civic participation in decision-making through digital technologies” in close cooperation with the Public Foundation “ITeachMe Competence Development Center”.
To participate in Civic Tech Camp Almaty on a competitive basis, among 180 applicants, PhD, Associate Professor, Chief Researcher of the E-Tech Hub Bibol Zhakipbayev was selected.
The Civic Tech Camp Almaty program was rich and useful.
On the first day, we discussed civilian technology; about the mechanisms of interaction with government agencies and advocacy of the results of the study; about the success story of ProTenge: how to build active communities in social networks; about how to launch a mobile application in a couple of days: the NoCode revolution.
The second day was team building. They learned what advocacy and advocacy strategies are, evaluation of the effectiveness of an advocacy campaign.
On the third day, they took part in a master class on public speaking skills.
In general, by participating in Civic Tech Camp Almaty, we received a lot of new insights, tools and services that develop civil society, simplify communication between citizens and the government, and involve the public in solving important issues.
The project contributes to increasing the participation of youth and women in decision-making and increasing the level of digital literacy in key regions of Kazakhstan.
