IATP News

Regional Agencies in Azerbaijan Increase the Efficiency of Their Work with ICT

Azerbaijan’s fast developing economy has begun digitizing regional government and semi-governmental institutions to increase their effectiveness, however, employees are often obliged to learn how to use their new workstations or face termination. Two recently digitized organizations in Azerbaijan are demonstrating the results of increased computer and internet use at the workplace, while the 17 employees trained by IATP from those institutions enjoy increased job security.

Seven employees of Shirvan City Power Station have begun using their newly acquired computer skills to register customers, calculate payments, prepare official notices to delinquent clients, and submit reports after completing ICT training at the Shirvan IATP Center in April. Eighteen-year veteran engineer Yusif Yusifov noted, “Younger employees possess computer skills. I didn’t want to fall behind and lose my job. So, I registered at the IATP center and attended computer courses that help me a lot at work.”

At the Agriculture and Food Industry Trade Union in Imishli, Azerbaijan, ten union employees are streamlining their work after undergoing training at their local IATP center in January and February 2009. Training participants Vusal Afandiyev and Amil Panahov reported that they can now process office paperwork and communicate with management, clients, and colleagues in other branches online without aid from colleagues.

Amil Panahov commented, “Prior to the courses, I depended on my colleagues to prepare documents…I asked them to help me several times a day. But now I do not depend on them for help with office work, thanks to the training at the Imishli IATP Center…I can easily obtain legislative statements and legal codes from the internet. I can also acquaint myself with the experiences of colleagues based in other regions.”

Azerbaijan Healthcare Practitioners Improve Efficiency with New IT Skills

Azerbaijan Healthcare Practitioners Improve Efficiency with New IT Skills Medical professionals from the Imishli’s Central Hospital, Children’s Clinic, and Central Clinic are now working more efficiently thanks to the skills they gained through IATP training during the spring of 2009.

After IATP Center Administrator Abulfat Zeynalli delivered an outreach and recruitment presentation on ICT for medical practitioners, ten physicians from local healthcare institutions signed up for IATP skills courses. They completed computer basics and office applications training at the Imishli IATP Center in February and March. As part of their coursework, these professionals learned how to work with files and folders, track patient information, and use word processing software.

Hospital staff are using their new skills daily. Imishli’s health administrators and physicians are using computers to document patient conditions, produce health certificates, and generate various registration forms. Imlishi Regional Central Hospital Registration Department employee Arzu Salmanova commented, “Now I can say that I do my job faster than before. People don’t need to wait long for registration and this makes me happy.”

Online Forum on Civic Education links US, Eurasian Educators

More than 20 educators from Turkmenistan, Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan, learned about civic education in the United States during an IATP-sponsored online discussion. Turkmenistan university professors taking part in the online forum mentioned it was their first chance to discuss education curricula with international colleagues online. These professors later reported they are continuing to explore teaching materials on civic education provided by the forum expert and discuss civic engagement education issues via e-mail (materials available).

From March 9 to 19, 2009, University of Minnesota’s Center for Democracy and Citizenship Professor Dennis Donovan accessed the IATP online forum, sharing his extensive professional experience with interested educators across Eurasia. Professor Donovan introduced participants to the Center’s mission and activities, discussing his student mentoring methods, and addressed the participants’ many questions.

The interactive discussion revealed interest in the strategies used by American schools to engage youth in liberal arts education. Professor Donovan explained that the best US teachers develop relationships with their students and encourage the expression of different opinions, which he called a “strategy for modeling democracy.” Later in the discussion, the Eurasian educators learned about the Center’s international partnership network and received information on Hubert Humphrey Fellowship opportunities in their home countries. This online forum is one of ten international online networking events organized by IATP this year.

IATP Users in Azerbaijan Receive Jobs at National Mobile Phone Company

Two young women in Shirvan were hired at the one of Azerbaijan’s national mobile phone companies Narmobile (http://narmobile.az/) as a result of IATP training.  Before they came to IATP last fall, Emilia Fataliyeva and Flora Abilova had difficulty finding jobs since the majority of companies required employees to have computer skills.  After requesting help from IATP, the young women learned MS Office applications and internet basics.  Alongside ICT training, the pair also completed management courses, learned how to create resumes, and apply for jobs online.

As a result of their efforts, they recieved jobs at Narmobile’s newly opened branch in Shirvan.  Today, Fataliyeva and Abilova manage daily office tasks, such as registering subscribers and preparing reports, using their computer skills.  Abilova commented, "Thanks to IATP training, we achieved success.  After attending IATP training on computer skills, resume writing, and more, we were hired by a well known company.  We express our gratitude to IATP and to USAID for financing it."  Professional ICT courses provided by IATP raise the qualifications of citizens, as well as the economic potential of their communities. IATP centers continue to provide these skills in nearly 50 cities throughout Eurasia.

Azeri Journalist Improves Regional Reporting, Finds Job with National Newspaper

Imishli, Azerbaijan IATP user Azer Aliyev received a job as a correspondent for the Baku-based national newspaper Azadlıq in January 2009 thanks to skills he developed at IATP.  Since 2003, Aliyev worked for Azadlıq as a part-time correspondent covering social, political, and legal, and human rights-related issues in the region.  Since Aliyev did not have a computer or access to the internet, he faced problems preparing and submitting his articles. 

IATP opened a center in Imishli in 2006, and since then, Azer Aliyev has mastered word processing, photo editing, and e-mail skills.   With IATP support, he was able to developed his work and maintain regular communication with newspaper’s editors.  Also, the free access to information online at IATP allows him to stay abreast of the latest events in Azerbaijan.

Expressing his gratitude to IATP, Aliyev noted, "I still remember the difficulty I faced while doing my work [before].  It was impossible then to find computer centers outside of the capital city and I had to go to Baku  where it was expensive to access computers.  IATP services are free and I do not face those difficulties anymore.  It is very important for us as journalists…it is a very difficult profession and such kind of services are a great support for us.  I express my gratitude to IATP and USAID for this service." 

Thanks to the free and high-quality services and support available at IATP, journalists throughout Azerbaijan can effectively collaborate with larger, national organizations and provide them with timely and reliable news from the field.

Azerbaijani Political Parties Advance Online Outreach Skills at Graduated IATP Center

Representatives of seven Azerbaijani political parties can now advertise their ideas and policies on the internet.  They learned these advanced computer skills through training conducted by IATP and its USAID-funded partner the National Democratic Institute (NDI).  Internet advertising is the second step of computer courses for the party members, following productivity and data management training.  With ICT rapidly changing the realm of media, NDI asked IATP to train the representatives in developing and managing their party websites.  IATP organized the training at the recently graduated Independent Internet Center (IIC) at Baku City Library, which continues to collaborate with USAID projects although its funding from that agency has concluded.

NDI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization that has supported democratic institutions and practices worldwide.  Since its founding in 1983, NDI and its local partners have worked to establish and strengthen political and civic organizations, safeguard elections, and promote citizen participation, openness, and accountability in government (http://www.ndi.org). NDI and IATP invited all of Azerbaijan's political parties to the training.

Seven officials were in attendance, representing the Democratic Reforms Party (http://www.demreforms.org), the New Azerbaijan Party, the Azerbaijan National Independence Party (http://amipmillet.az.iatp.net/), the Umid Party (http://umidgencler.az.iatp.net), the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (http://axcpgencleri.az.iatp.net), the Musavat Party, and the Azerbaijan Democratic Party.  Director of Sahil Ltd. Vahid Gasymov facilitated the event.  Gasymov is also a founder of the BarCamp Conference – an international participatory conference on technology – that IATP staff members attended last August.

During the training, participants learned about how to create internet advertisements, use effective online marketing tools, and monitor their advertisement’s results.  As a result of the training, the political party representatives created flash animation Web banner test samples at http://sahil.az/SIR/ before applying their skills to their parties’ websites. Democratic Reforms Party representative Tahir Balayev remarked, “This program gave me innovative ICT skills to use in my daily work in public relations.  Thanks to USAID for supporting such programs that help us learn new IT skills.  We are in the process of using our IT skills to develop our official website, such as creating internet banners of our partner organizations”.

Blogging from Baku: Azerbaijani Parliament Gains New Online Presence

Five officials from Azerbaijan’s Parliament created blogs and posted them online in December as part of a good governance initiative. In cooperation with USAID-funded Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) and the Media Advancement Project, IATP is implementing this professional education project. Thus far, IATP has assisted members of Parliament and their staffs in Baku, Shirvan, Imishli, and Sumgait in mastering ICT skills and creating their own blogs.

IATP volunteer Samir Yahyayev, who had completed IATP training several years ago, taught the Parliament members and their support staff about creating blogs, posting articles, uploading pictures, internet etiquette, and increasing online visitor traffic. As a result of the training, the Azerbaijani officials’ blogs are appearing online, providing their constituents with more information about government activities, and they can be found at kamranramazanov.blogmilli.com, mmehdi.blogmilli.com, mmfirdovsi.blogmilli.com, rafikismayilov.blogmilli.com, and vuqarqaracayev.blogmilli.com.

Citizens Get Legal Advice at IATP Center

On December 6, 2008, 17 residents of Imishli, Azerbaijan, received legal assistance from representatives of the American Bar Association (ABA). The meeting was organized by the local IATP center as part of the USAID-funded Traveling Lawyers project, which provides free legal advice to people in Azerbaijan’s rural regions. So far, the pro-bono lawyers have consulted over 850 clients across the country.

The lawyers were asked to solve a host of problems, including land disputes, inheritance issues, social services problems, and criminal claims. Some issues required further legal follow-up from Baku, although many were resolved on the spot by the knowledgeable lawyers. In one case, a client with five children asked at what age his wife was eligible for a pension. His counsel responded that according to Article 8.1 of the Law of The Republic of Azerbaijan on Labor Pensions, women who have given birth to three or more children, have cared for them through age eight, and have paid social welfare taxes for at least five years, are conditionally entitled to a pension at age 49.

One man needed a document certifying his ownership over the house where he currently lives. This kind of problem is typical in Azerbaijan, especially in the country’s remote provinces, as many villagers occupy and build houses on empty, unclaimed plots of land. He did so in 2004, and now requires documents certifying ownership of the property in order to sell the house. The Service of State Registry of Real Estate refused his application, citing his lack of ownership over the land or the structure. The ABA lawyers told him that his only legal recourse would be to check whether the land was municipal property, and if so, buy it from the government. After that, he would be able to submit an application to build the house. If successful, he was instructed to apply to the State Registry and have the structure registered, certifying his right to it.

The IATP center’s unique community center environment and public access point for information make it an ideal partner for other free services provided by USAID projects. One citizen, Celal Ahmedov, said, “This is the first time that we in Imishli have had access to legal consultation from Baku lawyers. We express our gratitude to USAID for supporting programs that help us get legal consultations for free.”

Entrepreneurs Learn of Microfinance Opportunities in Azerbaijan

AZ Forum Micro Credits Aug07
Originally uploaded by iatp_eurasia

This summer, dozens of entrepreneurs and other citizens learned about microfinance opportunities from the international non-profit lender FINCA via IATP centers nationwide.

More than 30 citizens of Azerbaijan participated in an online forum entitled, “How to Obtain Microloans from International Organizations” with Ella Beavers, chief operations officer of FINCA, from August 1 to 8. FINCA is an international organization providing financial services to the world's lowest-income entrepreneurs so they can create jobs, build assets, and improve their standard of living. Participants posted questions regarding the use of micro credits, types of loans, kinds of businesses that qualify for a loan, people eligible to receive credits, and documents necessary for credits.

Arzu Yusifova from Imishli asked, “For what businesses do you lend credits? What is the minimum necessary rate of profit in order to receive a loan?” Beavers answered, “We lend to business that operate in retail and wholesale trade, services and manufacturing. The acceptable rate of profit is at least 1.3 times the repayment installment (principal +interest). For example if the installment is $10 your profit needs to be at least $13.”

IATP Empowers Young People to Manage their Movement Online

Ten of the most active mentors of IRELI, an Azerbaijan-wide youth movement, improved their computer skills through comprehensive technical training. Held in Baku, the training series was co-sponsored by IATP and BarCamp in October and November. BarCamp is an international network of technology-focused, user-generated open conferences founded in the United States.

As a new partner of IRELI, IATP trained active members of the youth movements in photo editing. Supported by the government, IRELI was established in 2005 and advocates territorial integrity, dynamic development, and national integration in Azerbaijan. Baba Aliyev, an editor of a famous magazine Explorer, became a volunteer IATP trainer after the BarCamp Azerbaijan Conference in late August. Aliyev shared his profound knowledge of Adobe PhotoShop software with the participants. As a result of the training, young people improved the organization’s website (www.ireli.az) by editing and uploading photos of their activities.

Training participants wrote a special thank you letter to the IATP program expressing their gratitude for organizing a training that was so valuable to them. Course participant N. Behbudoba wrote, "Before, we had to find somebody and pay him money just for updating our website. Now, due to IATP training, we will be able to maintain our website on our own. Besides that, we are the type of youth who are ready to share our knowledge with others, and this course will help us to educate other members of the movement. We thank the IATP program for organizing such a great opportunity for us."