Social Design Training in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

The training for representatives of the diasporas was delivered in the Chui region

On 21-22 October 2020, the Max Planck Foundation’s Kyrgyzstan project team implementing an EU financed project entitled “Fighting against discrimination of women from ethnic minorities and ensuring their equal access to public services” conducted a “Social Designing” training in Bishkek. 25 representatives of the diasporas of the Chui region and members of the Assembly of the People of the Kyrgyz Republic participated in the event. Social design is one of the most effective ways to develop civil society. Community participation in development projects and decision-making is one of the foundations of social design practice in many countries. Deputy Chairperson of the Council of the Assembly of the People of Kyrgyzstan and President of the NGO “International Association of Karachais Ata Jurt (Kyrgyzstan)” pointed out that social design is a timely, necessary skill and tool to promote human rights and engage women in society.

The training participants learned about social design, how to develop project proposals and business plans, and how to implement business ideas into reality. The training was conducted interactively, with the proactive involvement of participants in group exercises. On the first day of the training, the participants learned about social design and the project’s life cycle. They also made a needs assessment, identified problems in their communities, analysed stakeholders and learned how to use a structural approach to develop a project, including monitoring, evaluation, project indicators, and project sustainability analysis. On the second day, participants learned how to build a business model and implement their ideas. The main task for the participants was to find and evaluate business ideas. They built a business model for SWOT analysis and developed a finance plan and budgets. At the end of the second day, a lot of attention was paid to practical assignments within the groups. A local trainer helped the participants to finalise their project proposals and business plans.