TURKMENISTAN: S/GWI PROJECT PROPOSAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000223

SIPDIS

REF: SECSTATE 00012531

STATE FOR S/GWI, SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD,

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV SCUL KPAO TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: S/GWI PROJECT PROPOSAL

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1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (U) SUMMARY: Embassy Ashgabat proposes that S/GWI support
the Tech Age Girls program in Turkmenistan. The Tech Age Girls
project will address low technology literacy among young women in
Turkmenistan and will encourage cvic participation among this
critical demographic group. Tech Age Girls is a proven program that
has shown spectacular results in the past and, with a new model for
implementation that includes local partners and private sponsorship,
will increase women's involvement in the economy. END SUMMARY.

MASSIVE GAPS IN TECHNOLOGY TRAINING FOR WOMEN


3. (SBU) During the first 17 years of Post-Soviet independence,
Turkmenistan regressed drastically in the spheres of education,
women's integration, and technology. Former President Niyazov
outlawed the internet, limited mandatory education to nine years,
and implemented severe cultural changes that narrowed the role of
women in leadership and society. In the three years since Niyazov's
death, Turkmenistan has made limited progress to rectify the harm
caused by the Niyazov era. Internet and computer training is still
limited, human capacity nearly non-existent, and women's involvement
in economy limited.

A PROVEN PROGRAM - TECH AGE GIRLS


4. (U) In 2007, the State Department began the first of three
successful cycles of the Tech Age Girls (TAG) project in
Turkmenistan. The project addresses the lack of skilled women in
the field of information technology (IT) by encouraging and training
the most promising young women. Through a process in which they have
the opportunity to further develop IT skills, learn from successful
female leaders, and design their own community projects,
participants take their first steps toward entering one of the most
promising and dynamic fields in the global economy.


5. (U) The program selects 100 girls for training that includes
introductory courses on IT, Web design, and leadership skills.
Beyond the training, tech age girls are taught the values of
community service and are required to lead activities for Global
Youth Service Day in their home towns. After the first three months
of training, each participant is able to regularly update their own
blog and website focused on youth or women leaders in their
communities. At the end of the year-long program, 20 finalists are
selected to participate in a two-week conference in Ashgabat. In
the past, UNICEF and the OSCE have supported the final conference.
After the conference, each Tech Age girl receives a small grant to
help them implement a community-based project.


6. (U) After three successful years, the project came to a close
with the end of the Global Connections and Exchange Program (GCE)
in Turkmenistan. GCE had been funded by a U.S. Department of
State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) grant and
was administered by IREX. Now with a partnership between IREX,
American Councils and a local NGO, Embassy Ashgabat would like to
resurrect Tech Age Girls.

HOW DOES TECH AGE GIRLS WORK?


7. (U) Tech Age Girls is a unique, innovative project for girls of
grades 7 - 9 that puts technology to use in identifying and
developing future women leaders in places where girls may not have
the same opportunities as boys. Through local NGOs and with outside
trainers, the project competitively selects a group of young women
who demonstrate the potential for leadership and a commitment to
sharing their enthusiasm, talent, and skills with their peers. TAG
also helps young women contribute their voices to public discussions
of critical issues and promotes the Internet presence of girls'
perspectives in local languages. Tech Age Girls participants join
in a series of guided events that bring out their abilities, equip
them for professional achievement, and inspire them to become
leaders in their communities.


8. (U) Tech Age Girls is a three phase project. Phase One lasts up

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to six months, during which participants are selected and strengthen
their IT skills while forming an online community based on a series
of online events. Phase Two brings the highest achievers to a one-
to two-week in-person workshop in the capital city, where girls
participate in leadership training and meet influential,
national-level women leaders. Phase Three begins when participants
return to their communities, remaining connected to a network of
young women leaders who are implementing local projects and training
their peers in key IT skills. Upon completion of the first year,
participants become mentors for following groups of Tech Age Girls,
enhancing project sustainability and spreading its benefits even
wider.


9. (U) The project follows several steps. First, applicants submit
essays, create and update personal blogs, and volunteer in their
communities. Second, entries are reviewed by a selection committee
of project partners and evaluated based on their level of commitment
and consideration of discussion topics; semi-finalists are then
selected. Third, semi-finalists complete introductory courses in
IT, Web design, and leadership. Meanwhile, they continue to update
their blogs, participate in bi-weekly online forums on women's
issues, correspond weekly with mentors, and plan and lead volunteer
initiatives. After the forums, semi-finalists design a website about
a youth leader in their community. Finally, finalists are selected
based on the impact of their projects and their demonstrated
potential to serve as local leaders. The finalists attend a
two-week workshop in the capital on advanced Web design, leadership,
problem solving, and project design. During their second week, they
participate in a mini-internship at an IT firm, international
organization, or government body. After the finalist return home
from the seminar, finalists implement the projects they designed at
the workshop and foster the development of the next year's group of
Tech Age Girls.


10. (U) This model has worked, because IREX is selective with the
participants, and uses the competitive nature of the application
process to push them to develop and produce. TAG participants are
producing at every stage. By requiring development of skills and
resources and participation in TAG events over a period of several
months, we learn which participants are most serious and ready for
intensive training. By making this final selection, we focus on the
best participants and devote fewer resources to those participants
less likely to make an impact in their communities and follow
through. The finalists are also taught to teach others, and they
expand the impact of the training and opportunities we provided them
upon their return home. Because they have worked six months
together, the participants are more likely to communicate with each
other independently and work together on projects.

TECH AGE GIRLS BUDGET


11. (U) The total budget for implementation of this new round of
Tech Age Girls is $66,869.


A. Personnel
Washington Program Coordinator $1,500
Program Director - based in Kazakhstan $2,100
IREX Turkmenistan Country Coordinator $396
TAG Coordinator $5,200
IREX Training and Web Development Coordinator $810
Regional TAG Coordinators (4 - coordinators) $7,000
Subtotal Personnel $17,006


B. Fringe Benefits
Washington staff $332
Expatriate Staff $465
Subtotal Fringe $797


C. Travel
Local Travel Pool - TAG Coordinator + TAG Regional Coordinators
$1,600
Finalist Travel to Ashgabat for Summer Conference $630
Ground Transportation $700
Summer Conference Meals (Lunch+Dinner+Coffee Breaks) $10,500

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Summer Conference Lodging in Ashgabat (includes breakfast) $4,200
Subtotal Travel $17,630


D. Supplies
Office Supplies/Printing/Postage $5,270
Equipment maintenance $300
TAG Summer Conference
T-shirts for Summer Conference $420
Conference Hall Rental $250
Subtotal Supplies $6,240


E. Other Direct Costs
Trainers at the TAG Conference $360
TAG Community Project Mini Grants $2,000
Office Rent and maintenance $1,200
Office Communications - phone, Internet $960
American Corner Extended Hours Operation Costs $8,000
Subtotal Other Direct Costs $12,520


F. Indirect Costs
DC Facilities $402
DC Overhead $558
Field Overhead $5,235
General & Administrative $6,481
Subtotal Indirect Costs $12,676


THE IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATION


12. (U) Tech Age Girls is a program designed and previously
implemented by IREX. IREX is an international nonprofit
organization providing leadership and innovative programs to improve
the quality of education, strengthen independent media, and foster
pluralistic civil society development.
Founded in 1968, IREX has an annual portfolio of over $60 million
and a staff of 500 professionals worldwide. IREX and its partner
IREX Europe deliver cross-cutting programs and consulting expertise
in more than 100 countries.

A PLAN FOR SUSTAINABILITY


13. (U) Post has a plan for the long-term sustainability of Tech Age
Girls. With a commitment for a private-public partnership with
Chevron in hand, Post foresees an expansion of the project to reach
more girls and provide better internship opportunities.
Additionally, this new phase of Tech Age Girls calls for IREX to
train a local partner for the long-term implementation of the
project. The local partner, an initiative group focused on
education and women's issues, will shadow IREX trainers and work
together to be able to replicate the program on a local scale. Post
anticipates that in the future, with a lower-cost local implementor
and continued private support, Tech Age Girls can continue to
successfully operate in Turkmenistan. The project will be managed
and monitored at Post by the Public Affairs Section of the Embassy
and will be integrated into the assistance objectives of Post and
the SCA bureau. In February 2010 with Post completed an EUR/ACE
sponsored review of its assistance objectives. The Tech Age Girls
address three of the five primary themes in our assistance
objectives - increasing access to global information, increasing
civic participation, and increasing access to quality education.
TAG will allow these women to integrate themselves into the global
economy, encourage them to become more active citizens, and improve
their ability to receive a quality education.

CURRAN