EF launched the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia (EFCA) in 2005, with offices in Almaty, Kazakhstan; Bishkek and Osh, Kyrgyzstan; and Dushanbe, Tajikistan. EFCA supports local initiatives in civic engagement, the development of private enterprise, education, and public administration. Program areas include supporting civil society development and improving the quality of services delivered to citizens; improving the quality of education and supporting youth; developing entrepreneurship and supporting economic growth; and promoting corporate social responsibility.
In 2012, EFCA implemented a nine-month World Bank-funded project entitled “Raising awareness and the involvement of civil society in the ‘Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).’” The EITI is a global coalition of governments, companies, and civil society working together to improve openness and accountable management of revenues from natural resources. The goal of EFCA’s project was to ensure the transparency of the mining sector, to mitigate social tensions, to help build economic and political stability, and to increase the role of civil society in monitoring the extractive industries in Kyrgyzstan. As part of the project, EFCA trained and supported non-governmental organizations at the grassroots level, which lacked the knowledge and organizational skills to fully participate in the EITI. During the second stage of the project, local non-governmental organizations received small grants for projects including training seminars and workshops for the local population and authorities, as well as information campaigns and other activities to facilitate implementation of EITI in the field.
One of EFCA’s programs is the Good Governance Initiative. Its primary goal is to identify and support the creativity and innovation inherent in civil society organizations and communities in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan in order to achieve institutionalized, permanent, and durable reforms on specific good governance topics. The program will provide multi-phase sub-grants to local civil society organizations working in the field of state reform in Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, including those that are located outside major cities.
EFCA-Kazakhstan
Foundation Website: http://en.ef-ca.kz/
EFCA-Kyrgyzstan
Foundation Website: http://www.efca.kg/
EFCA-Tajikistan
Foundation Website: http://ef-ca.tj/