Participants from Northern Areas in ILT Programme Germany visited Starnberg Secretariate (by Zulfiqar Ali Khan)

The participants of first International Long Term Training (ILTs) programme visited Starnberg District Secretariat near Munich Germany. The aim of this visit was to get exposure of the political and administrative structures in Germany and compare it to the mountain regions. Heinrichey Frey, Governor of the landkreis welcomed the participants and the professionals presented presentations on the processes of development planning, implementation, resources and other aspects of the political and administrative systems in Germany. The visit is expected to help young professionals to plan public-oriented systems in the mountain regions.  Click here to view this news in local newspaper: News in German Newspaper.

The 25 participants of this one year training programme are from the mountain regions of Northern Pakistan, Pamir Tajikistan, Xinjiang and Tibet China and Nepal.  The 5 participants from Northern Pakistan are Ghulam Rasool (P&D, NAs.), Mussarat Parveen (AKRSP, Gilgit), Zubaida Abbas (AKRSP Baltistan), Syed Mujahid Ali Shah (Nounihal Development Organisation, Nagar) and Zulfiqar Ali Khan (KADO).

The main objective of this training programme is to develop a cadre of young professionals in mountain areas of Karakoram, Himaliya, Hindukush and Pamir regions aiming at increased professional competencies as well as an attitudinal change of various governmental and non-governmental actors from the civil society needed for the sustainable development of mountain regions. InWEnt, a German-based organisation jointly implement this programme with  International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). It receives conceptual and organisational support through strategic partnerships with the Centre for Development Studies at the Free University of Berlin (ZELF) and the International Association for the Protection of Alps (CIPRA) and financial support from Ministry of economic Development and cooperation. The training courses in the Alpine areas which combine theoretical training with practical experiences as internships in local and regional implementation agencies, administrations and civil Society organisations in Germnay, Switerzland, Austria, and Lichtenstein.

Exposure of the participants to the experiences of Alpine regions of 8 different European countries is a step to develop a network and cooperation between the mountain regions of the Karakoram, Hindukush, Himalya and Pamir.