Almaty, Kazakhstan – Among the distinguished alumni from the Executive Master in Development Policies and Practices (DPP) recently featured in our news series, we find a remarkable social entrepreneur who is making a world of difference, by forging alliances across cultures and creating new opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (PWD).
Parkhat Yussupjanov, a graduate of the Executive Master DPP 2014 "Central Asia" cohort (featured in photo, right), is Founder of “ZHIGER”, a Youth Organization for Persons with Disabilities in Almaty. With the financial support of Abilis Foundation, (based in Finland), Parkhat started a project for ZHIGER to develop training capacity among young leaders with disabilities—who can then go and train other trainers across regions of the country. This kind of project encourages them to establish their own organizations, and to teach their colleagues and personal networks on various issues—ranging from social issues like the correct and proper use of the disability-related terminology to critical health issues, such as HIV and AIDS prevention.
In March, twenty individuals with visual, hearing and physical disabilities between 16-30 years of age benefitted from the first “Train the Trainers” programme. Participants represented the Almaty area as well as the Enbekshy Kazakh (120 km from Almaty) and Panfilov (350 km from Almaty) regions of the country. The training also benefitted from the support of Association of Public Organizations “Inayat” and the Mayor’s office of Panfilov.
“This training is the first step toward establishing the first network of its kind for youth organizations of persons with disabilities in Kazakhstan”, says Parkhat. “In the future, this network will be advocating for further integration of young persons with disabilities at national and international levels.”
The participants enjoyed a unique opportunity to acquire new skills during the training, often conducting presentations in front of a big audience for the first time in their lives. Many participants said that this raised their self-esteem and self-confidence and inspired them to expand their outreach in working with others. Some participants from the rural areas of Almaty region expressed the desire to unite efforts and to establish their own NGOs, in order to jointly solve their problems they face in every-day life.
Not surprisingly, Parkhat was recently nominated by the Government of Kazakhstan as a national candidate for the Japan International Cooperation Agency training and dialogue program, "Economic Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities through a community-based employment support”. Parkhat attended his own further training in Okinawa, Japan, followed by a brief internship there this past Feburury.
So what’s next for his organization, ZHIGER? According to Parkhat, the organisation is “now working to establish new youth centers of PWDs in villages and towns of south-eastern Kazakhstan, with aspirations to create a national network of youth organizations of persons with disabilities.” With the continued help of Abilis Foundation of Finland and the U.S. Department of State, who are generously supporting our activities in rural areas of Kazakhstan, with a focus on employment of PWDs in local communities in rural areas. “Joint efforts of disabled people's organizations resulted in better employment opportunities for PWDs in big cities,” says Parkhat, “however, the situation in rural areas is still very unsatisfactory.”
Mr. Yussupjanov’s advocacy reflects the kinds of values and leadership skills that we aim to instill among all participants in our Executive Master in Development Policies and Practices (DPP). The leadership of Executive Education is very proud of Parkhat's achievements, and wishes him continued success in his ongoing endeavors!
Related stories:
DPP Alumni stories - Myanmar and Burkina Faso
DPP Graduation - Session #1 - 2015
DPP Graduation - Session #2 - 2015
More about the Executive Master - DPP
The Executive Master DPP is offered concurrently across five regions (Latin America, English-speaking Africa, Francophone Africa, Central Asia and Southeast Asia), and provides both theoretical and hands-on training in the field. After one regionally-delivered module, participants conduct a 4-month (part-time) applied research project at their place of work, and then groups converge upon Geneva for the programme’s final module, to learn and exchange insights about their projects.
With the ongoing, gracious support of the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation, the Canton of Geneva, Avina Stiftung and other private foundations, the DPP is proud to provide some scholarships for individual participants from several countries in Central Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, where needs for capacity-building are often critical for achieving development targets.
Now with a few hundred alumni in its ranks, the DPP continues to build its global network of development practitioners, who can exchange best practices and become resources for each other in their future work.