DUSHANBE, March 11, 2015, Asia-Plus -- The Branch of HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation (Helvetas) in Tajikistan is planning to conduct ‘Girls and Women in Action’ workshop in Khujand, the capital of Sughd province on March 13 under financial support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

According to the Helvetas Branch in Tajikistan, the main goal of the workshop is to enhance capacities of women and girls to prevent domestic violence, suicides and family related issues through awareness raising, peer learning and reflection, developing personal and community leadership skills to foster social skills and innovative thinking.

The workshop will create a platform to connect women and girls with their peers, bring them together to exchange experience, and talk about the potentials for change in their communities.

The event will gather women from different backgrounds and present success stories of women leaders, mobile theater performances, open forum for discussion, and quiz games to name a few activities.  The leaders of women clubs in Isfara and Khujand, debate clubs, members of the ‘Business Incubator’, ‘Gulrukhsor’ shelter, local NGOs and representatives of the Committee on Women and Family Affairs will take part in the workshop.  Upon the completion of the workshop a newsletter will be developed on the success stories of the participants to provide a broader view.

During its 15 years of partnership with Tajikistan, ADB has used its financial resources and technical expertise to help improve the welfare of the Tajik people.  The partnership has promoted social development, restored and built new infrastructure, expanded agricultural production, and encouraged regional cooperation and trade within the framework of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program.

HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation (Helvetas) is a Swiss association for international cooperation. It was founded in 1955 as the first private organization for development cooperation in Switzerland.  Helvetas is a politically independent and non-denominational association, supported by approximately 43,000 members, 40,000 sponsors and 15 regional groups.  The objective of Helvetas is to help create a fairer world in which the basic needs of all men and women are satisfied and human rights are protected.