Afghanistan

DVV International has been committed to the education and training of young people in Afghanistan since 2002. With the jointly established Afghan National Association for Adult Education, ANAFAE, DVV International operates a total of 15 training centres, mainly in the north of the country. The Institute does not have a country office in Afghanistan, however a project leader is regularly posted to be on site.

With their offers, the training centres particularly bolster vocational training and opportunities for young people in their transition to working life. The Afghan population is young, about half are under 15 years old. It is especially these young people who will play a crucial role in shaping the future of the country. Through the training programmes, they learn how to make their contribution to economic growth and social change. Demand for the courses is great; around 200,000 learners take part each year – 30 percent of them women.

Main focus of work

Education at the transition point between school and university or profession: DVV International and ANAFAE enhance opportunities for young people in their transition from school to university and into the world of employment with complemental education programmes in their education centres. With the knowledge acquired, their options in the labour market increase.

Professional education and training programmes: One-month and three-month training programmes, IT and English courses, business knowledge and office management, consolidate the professional qualifications of young adults. Orientation courses for employment and training, application training and knowledge about their own abilities and skills give them additional assistance in finding work. In special one-to-three-month training modules, young people learn techniques and skills in order to become self-employed and earn their own living.

Capacity-building: DVV International trains multipliers and adult educators and trainers. This is how the professionalisation of local adult education institutions is supported.

Lobbying and networking: DVV International and ANAFAE engage at the national level to ensure that adult education receives greater consideration in policy and legislation. In addition, they strengthen the network of adult education institutions and other national partners (governmental and nongovernmental).

Literacy: DVV International and ANAFAE make important contributions to programme and strategy development in the area of literacy, but also to the opening of transition opportunities from literacy into the formal education system and to vocational training. Through targeted cooperation with the media, they draw attention to the dramatic underfunding in this area and are committed to raising awareness of the importance of literacy in the future development of the country.

Partners

DVV International and its partner ANAFAE have begun to integrate a wide network of local and national partners in the work of the training centres, including some youth organisations. One focus is on the creation of effective training to counteract high youth unemployment, and another is to increase coordination between ministries in order to promote labour-market oriented education and training.

In addition to cooperation with the Vocational Training Department of the Ministry of Education, the employment centres of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Economic Ministry, in the foreground at the moment is the work being carried out directly with enterprises and with the economic and trade chambers.