Twenty five employees of the State Committee for Women, Children and Family Affairs of Azerbaijan were trained in strategic planning and project management. The training, from July 18 to 27, 2012 was conducted by the USAID-funded Women’s Participation Program implemented by Counterpart International, USA. The objective of the training was to build the capacity of the participants to plan and manage effectively development programs funded by the Government of Azerbaijan and various donors.

The two-year Women’s Participation Program works with the State Committee for Women and civil society groups to improve the socio-economic status of women by raising public awareness on issues that affect women and empowering them to engage in political and decision-making processes.

“I received a lot of positive feedback from the trainees, especially from our regional family support center representatives,” said Sabina Manafova, Head of the Committee’s International Relations Department. She added that “The Committee will continue to work with the Women’s Participation Program to identify training and technical assistance needs to further build the capacity of our field staff.”