A round table on the presentation of the Community of Practitioners platform was held in Turkmenistan on September 5, organized by the USAID Regional Water and Vulnerable Environment Activity in cooperation with the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC).
The meeting was attended by representatives of the following organizations: the State Committee for Water Management of Turkmenistan, the Academy of Civil Servants under the President of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan, Turkmen Universities, the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, the Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development, International organizations, including the United States Agency for International Development.
During the meeting, the participants were introduced to the Central Asian Community of Practice, established in Central Asia in 2022 with the support of USAID/WAVE. Based on the members of the Network of Academic Societies (NAS), the Community of Practice has expanded its membership and today includes representatives of educational and scientific institutions, government agencies, international organizations and experts interested in promoting water, energy, food and environmental security in Central Asia.
Lyudmila Kiktenko, the manager of the CAREC Environmental Management program, discussed the Community’s activities, key achievements, and the opportunity for Turkmenistan representatives to join. The Community unites higher education institutions and research institutes in the region to promote water, energy, food, environmental security, and sustainable development in educational and scientific processes. It also fosters knowledge exchange and interaction.
“The community of practice unites representatives of academic, scientific, management structures, students and experts and provides them with access to advanced knowledge and tools for effective management of water, energy, food, environmental security and sustainable development of Central Asian countries,” Lyudmila Kiktenko noted.
Presenting the electronic platform of the Community of Practice located on the Eurasian River Basin Management Portal, Zamira Zholdaskyzy, Coordinator for the Development of the Community of Practice and the Academic Community at CAREC, spoke about the tasks and principles of the electronic platform and the opportunities it provides to registered members.
“The electronic platform of the Community of Practice is an information base and networking platform where educational and training materials, research and analytical work on water resources and sector interconnections, as well as summaries of Community members can be found. Here you can not only receive useful information, but also share your expertise and interact with colleagues from other Central Asian countries,” Zamira Zholdaskyzy said.
According to the speaker, over the past six months, the number of users on riverbp.net has doubled, which proves the growing interest to the Community of Practice platform from universities and its practical benefits. This is also partly due to the creation of a group on the Telegram social network, which simplified the networking process between the NAS members and the Community of Practice.
In addition, during the meeting, training modules and other materials were considered, which will later be published on the Community of Practice platform for users from Turkmenistan. These knowledge products will contribute to the improvement of professional skills and the exchange of experience among the participants of the platform, providing them with the necessary resources for more effective work and interaction in the field of sustainable development.
The Network of Academic Society (NAS) has been operating since 2013 on the platform of the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC) with the support of development partners such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Swiss Development Agency (SDC), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), the European Union (EU), the World Bank (WB) and others.
The Community of Practice platform was created in 2022 by USAID WAVE in collaboration with CAREC on the basis of the Eurasian River Basin Portal (riverbp.net)./// Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia, 5 September 2024