Strengthening national capacities for conflict prevention and peacebuilding: Meaningful civil society engagement for trust-building and social cohesion project 

Overview: 

UNDP’s work in democratic governance and peacebuilding strengthens social cohesion by addressing conflict prevention, inclusive political processes, accountable governance, and youth engagement. The ongoing PBF-UNDP-UNESCO project aims to enhance stability in Kyrgyzstan by building peace infrastructure and fostering cooperation between civil society and government, promoting social cohesion and resilience.

The project focuses on trust-building between government and civil society, with the Public Consultative Councils (PCCs) as key beneficiaries in seven target locations. Established in 2013 to address conflicts the PCCs now operate in 23 multi-ethnic districts under the Ministry of Culture, Communications, Sports, and Youth Policy. The project aims to broaden the PCCs' mandate to address diverse social issues, encouraging dialogue between civil society, media, and authorities to meet community needs and resolve grievances.

The project outcome and outputs:  

Outcome: Horizontal and vertical trust enhanced due to improved government mechanisms, dialogical decision-making and holistic action for inter-group dialogue, inclusivity and accountability   

Output 1: Building long-term and sustainable I4P by strengthening institutional frames and capacities of PCCs that are strategically responsive to the current complex challenges of social cohesion 

Output 2: Collective action, pooling funding sources and joint programming of partners sustained and scaled up through experimentation and exploration of comprehensive social cohesion strategies of PCCs 

Duration of the project:36 months (January 2023– December2025)

UN agencies implementingproject:UNDP, UNESCO

Geographic coverage: Kyrgyz Republic (Alamedin, Sokuluk, Osh, Uzgen, Batken, Jalal-Abad, Razzakov)

Subject area: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions 

Project coordinator: Mukash Kaldarov 

Partners: Presidential Administration, Ministry of culture, information, sport and youth policy; Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Justice, State Agency forCivil Serviceand LocalGovernment Affairs, State Commission on Religious Affairs, 

Target beneficiaries: Municipal Authorities,Public Consultative Councils, Executive Secretaries of Public Receptions, community based Civil Society Organizations, communityleaders, leaders of youthand women's organizations, media organizations, educational institutions

Budget: $ 2 000,000