Bishkek, 26 July - Six trainers were trained in digital presentation skills and facilitation techniques through the Ready4Trade Central Asia (R4TCA) project of the International Trade Center (ITC), funded by the European Union (EU). Kyrgyz enterprises now have the opportunity to learn more easily about international trade rules, the export process, EU market requirements, and quality and compliance standards.

The essence of the event is to train trainers who come from the faculty of the Kyrgyz Economic University (KEU), which is the institutional partner of the "Support for Inclusive Development through Trade and Digitalization" component of the R4TCA project, in facilitation skills for these digital workshops. "Our methodology is a mix of online presentations on a learning platform, developed and implemented by the ITC technical team, and offline facilitation. Its goal is to provide trainers with the highest level of support so that they are free to do what they do best: help participants understand concepts and learn new skills. While traditional workshops require trainers to spend about 80% of their time lecturing and presenting content, the digital workshop methodology promotes a more interactive interaction between the trainer and the participants," explained Sergey Kokot, component coordinator.

"It was interesting for me to learn about international standards and norms, as well as ways to solve entry to the European market for our exporters. I learned about different tools, for example, registration of exporters electronically for entry into the EU - a very interesting point, which will be useful for our clients," shared her impressions of the training Natalia Shirshova, director of "Geotransservice" LLC, a customs representative and forwarder in Kyrgyzstan.

The methodology offered by the International Trade Center is very unique in its nature and in the way it communicates information to students, has been tested in all five Central Asian countries, and has shown to be highly effective, being already well received by entrepreneurs. Moreover, even the academic minds at Tashkent State University of Economics and the Kyrgyz Economic University have embraced it and agreed that it is a very effective method worth using even for teaching in higher education institutions.

“The program implies that by the efforts of trainers whom we train the information will be delivered to our final beneficiaries - micro, small and medium businesses. It will help them to understand the procedures and specifics of entering the European market, where there are their own rules and requirements," said Muzaffar Khamidov, facilitator of the training.

"Our partnership with ITC suggests that we will train more than 200 people by the end of the year. This is certainly a great opportunity to increase the capacity of our university and Kyrgyz businesses," said Bolot Toksubaev, director of the Center of Competence for Trade Facilitation at KEU.

About "Ready4Trade Central Asia" project

The International Trade Centre’s Ready4Trade Central Asia project supports the development of intra-regional and international trade in five Central Asian countries. The four-year initiative is a trade component of a larger EU-funded programme that supports investment, competitiveness and trade, thus contributing to sustainable and inclusive economic development in the region. The Ready4Trade Central Asia project is funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Trade Centre.