Turkmenistan: leaders of Central Asian National Societies meet
In February 2010, the Turkmenistan Red Crescent Society hosted the Annual Forum of Central Asian National Societies’ leadership. The event, held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, gave the National Societies an opportunity to discuss regional priorities and strategies.
At the opening of the Forum, the chairlady of Turkmenistan Red Crescent Society, Shemshat Mammedova commended the spirit of cooperation among all Central Asian National Societies and their commitment.
The Forum’s participants discussed and defined regional priorities, strategies and plans of action. They focused on: the adoption of CANS laws; updates on the implementation of CANS statutes; and the importance of distinguishing between the roles of governance and management.
The key accomplishment since the leadership forum of the previous year was the adoption of the law on the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan, which has contributed to its solid legal base in the country. Giyossiddin Merojov, president of the Tajikistan Red Crescent Society gave a presentation on the efforts and steps that led to this success story. He was commended by partner National Societies, who are also making efforts to promote their respective laws.
The Forum provided an opportunity to raise awareness among leaders of national societies of the relevance of the Safer Access Framework and its integration into national society structures and procedures. The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement partners shared the results of the General Assembly and the Council of Delegate of 2009.
The content of the revised trilateral memorandum of understanding between each CANS, the International Federation and the ICRC, concerning the coordination of activities and support was presented a nd discussed. It was agreed to invite Participating National Societies to join this new memorandum of understanding, which will be signed in the coming month for another three years.
To underpin the Movement's efforts, the Central Asian National Societies shared their challenges related to partnership, coordination and harmonization processes, identifying common approaches among National Societies, within the Movement and among donors. Experience sharing served as a valuable inspiration, triggering motivating for various humanitarian initiatives in the region.
As underlined by participants, the exchange of views will help in finding the appropriate response to many challenges, and addressing humanitarian problems in the region effectively.
At the end of the Forum, all Movement partners expressed their commitment to further cooperation with and support for each other. The Leadership Forum in the region has been a success for many years and will continue to serve as a platform for linking regional networks in order to effectively address current humanitarian challenges and promote humanitarian values in Central Asia.