Training Future Leaders

Message from Mr. Nishiwaki, Co-Director of UJC

Message from Ms. Kimura Ami, Project Coordinator of UJC

Professional Management Program: a Competent View at the Complex World of Business

Sharing with Happiness

Follow-up Cooperation Projects (FU)

Statistical Data on the Business Courses Programs of the Uzbekistan-Japan Center

Message from JICA Staff

News in Brief

! New JICA Experts were Dispatched

! New JICA Volunteers were Dispatched

CONTENTS

INFORMATION BULLETIN

JAPAN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGENCY IN THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

August, 2011

No17

Uzbekistan-Japan Center for Human Resources Development (UJC) is a project, initiated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Ministry for Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan to ensure further development of economic cooperation between Uzbekistan and Japan, personnel training and to strengthen cultural ties between the two countries. The official opening ceremony of the Centre was held on August 22, 2001 at the International Business Center. On March 28, 2007 the first regional branch of the Center was opened in the city of Bukhara. The Center operates in four main areas: organization of business courses, Japanese language courses, computer training courses for deaf-and-dump people, as well as facilitation of information and cultural exchange between our countries.

In transition to a market economy Uzbekistan needs a new generation of business leaders with advanced knowledge and skills of doing business. In this regard, the Centre has developed a unique program of short-term business courses for novice entrepreneurs and acting managers, which will help them in obtaining new or expanding existing knowledge in the field of business management. In future, it is planned to improve the content of lectures for the human resources development course in order to support start-ups and businesses initiated by the course alumni and help them to adapt to the current situation in the market of Uzbekistan by introducing "Japanese management" technique, which has gained worldwide recognition. To the moment, more than 4,000 people have attended these training courses.

Since its opening, the Center has been providing everyone with the opportunity to study Japanese language. To develop Japanese language teaching, the Center carries out wide range of activities, such as conducting Japanese language certification exams, speach contest and the Republican contest for junior students, supporting organization of meetings of Japanese Language Teachers Association, etc.

For the first time computer courses for deaf-and-dump people were organized by UJC in collaboration with the Republican Association of Deaf People at the end of January 2005. The main goal of the courses is to give people with disabilities an opportunity to study computer literacy free of charge.

Furthermore, various cultural events (open lectures, films demonstration, ikebana and origami classes, calligraphy lessons, tea ceremony, Japanese dish "makizushi" cooking master-class and etc.) are periodically organized in order to ensure a diverse field of communication for cultural exchange.

Since the very beginning, the Center has been keeping statistics of visitors, and thus, today the number of visitors has reached 500,000 people. The Center tries its best to meet the needs and interests of Uzbekistan citizens by organizing and conducting various courses and events.

Training Future Leaders

Fair “Studying in Japan”

Computer courses for deaf-and-dump people

Professional management program

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the UJC. By taking this opportunity, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for the warm support you have been offering to the UJC.

To celebrate this memorable year two events are going to be

held this fall. One is going to feature cultural activities including cultural traditions of Japan and Uzbekistan such as Japanese dance, Japanese drumming, Dutar playing and so on, which UJC members have been practicing. During this festival many photographs and pictures will be demonstrated, so you can have a look at the 10-year history of our center and at the attempts we have made to promote mutual understanding between Uzbekistan and Japan.

The other is an open business forum. Although the details are still under consideration, business people including alumni of our business courses are willing to get together and share their knowledge and experience to expand the pool of business ideas. This forum will also pay a tribute by highlighting achievements of small business and private entrepreneurship made this year.

Another event to sum up activities during this important year of small business and private entrepreneurship is business seminars to be held in various regions. We are going to cover as many cities as possible by these seminars.

We will give you more detailed information when the schedule will be arranged. We are looking forward to seeing you at these events.

Message from Mr. Nishiwaki, Co-Director of UJC

Professional Management Program: a Competent View at the Complex World of Business

In 2007, I learned about Professional Management Program (PMP) of the Uzbekistan-Japan Center from my best friend and colleague, who had graduated from PMP and participated in the training course in Japan. She was so enthusiastic and full of new ideas so that I was inspired too. And I decided to enroll to this course as well. By that moment, I have already worked in business environment, but as I didn't have a business education it was difficult for me to understand how business world works and how to establish and manage own enterprise.

In 2008 I took first training course "B" - "Management and Human Resource Development" at UJC, and since then I have been trying to keep in touch with the Center and be aware of all the related news.

In 2009 I was enrolled to the fourteenth PMP program. I can say that for these 6 months of study I gained many friends among my classmates, who even became to me as close as family members, and the Center turned to my second home. We all loved this second home so that always rushed to

the classes leaving our working places and were glad to see each other and couldn't stop talking and exchanging ideas and views. The most important thing I value most of all is making new friends who have great experience and who are always ready to share their experience and give valuable advice.

Thanks to PMP courses I have learned about financial management, accounting, and profitability analysis, preparation of a business plan, and many other nuances and aspects of business. The fact that the subjects were taught by professional trainers, who have also practical application of their subjects, is a great advantage of all the business courses of Uzbekistan-Japan Center. Because of this, each practical question asked by the students found its competent and professional response.

When I was enrolled in these courses, I was proud to say that I was taking a PMP course of the Uzbekistan-Japan Center, as I knew that most of the elite of Uzbekistan business had taken these business courses. Actually, it was a surprise for me to win this project. Because there were many experienced business leaders, people who have their own business, studying together with me at this course. And I even did not think that I could win this project. The winner of the project was awarded by training in Japan. The training was organized by JICA in cooperation with the organization of PREX. Within the period of two weeks we visited 16 institutions to experience in practice the Japanese management system, which we studied from the PMP course in theory. We saw in practice how such systems as “Kaizen”, “Kanban”, “Just in time” work. Leading and world-famous Japanese companies were eager to share their experiences of establishing a company. The executives of these companies have told us how they manage these large companies. We participated in the production process, saw how the quality circles were held in organizations, how the common standards were designed and operated in organizations. In short, after my training in Japan, I clearly understood how to make a competent business, how to manage it, how to motivate employees to work, how to diagnose my company and how to develop it. I returned from Japan with a wealth of practical knowledge and skills in business management.

After the training courses and internship in Japan, I began thinking completely differently, looking at the world in different way and assessing the situation by other criteria. I have learned how to create a competent business through introducing into practice the knowledge acquired from the PMP and the skills gained in Japan.

I am grateful to the PMP courses of the Uzbekistan-Japan Center for the knowledge and skills that have become the impetus for my self-renewal and development.

MUKHAMEDOVA Munisa, PMP 14, A1

The Uzbekistan-Japan Center for Human Development (UJC) has been supported by many concerned people in both countries Uzbekistan and Japan since its opening in August 2001, and this year it is celebrating the 10th anniversary. If in the beginning the number of visitors was around 2,000 people per month, then today this figure exceeds 5,000 people.

I was appointed to UJC as a project coordinator in July 2008. At that time the project was coming to the middle of the second phase, the Center's activities were already stable and it was being operated thanks to initiative of national staff. During these three years we were working on new approaches and as a result last year we opened a new business course called “Junior management program (JMP)” targeting young professionals. Furthermore, in 2009 and 2010 we held a fair “Studying in Japan”, where Japanese universities were invited to participate and attracted many people.

Being a member of the UJC management, at the same time, I am a student of the UJC Dutar course, where I learn how to play the Uzbek national musical instrument dutar. It is one of my pleasant activities in Uzbekistan. Moreover, thanks to this course, I had an opportunity to appear on local TV show.

In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to all people who have supported our project. I'm glad to celebrate here no t on ly the 10 th anniversary of UJC, but also the 2 0 t h a n n i v e r s a r y o f Uzbekistan's Independence. I wish both UJC and Uzbekistan progress and success.

Message from Ms. Kimura Ami, Project Coordinator of UJC

Follow-up Cooperation Projects (FU)

JICA offers various cooperation schemes to enable a recipient country to choose those that fit best to its diversified requirements. Among the variety of schemes, FU projects aim at further facilitation of the completed grant aid or technical cooperation program. This is done, in case of the former, through providing necessary spare parts when equipment failure occurs after completion of a grant aid project; in case of the latter, through assisting ex-participants of JICA training courses in acquiring small scale equipment, conducting seminars and researches, creating manuals, etc.

For example, among several FU projects planned for this year, JICA is providing two water quality monitoring equipment to the Hydrometeorological Research Institute of the Centre of Hydrometeorological Service of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Being targeted to further support the ex-participants of JICA training courses, this assistance will bring advanced Atomic Absorption Spectrometer and Gas Chromatograph to the Institute. Through utilization of both equipments, the specialists will be able to use effectively the skills they have gained during JICA trainings. Moreover, it will be possible to detect more water pollutants compared to what has been detected until present and facilitate development of new methods of water quality monitoring, which can be introduced throughout Uzbekistan. Ultimately, this will ensure better control of water quality and thereby improve life standards and health of the population.

Bakhodir MARDONOV, Program Officer of JICA

Sharing with HappinessMy name is Kawaguchi Minori. Starting from August, 2010 I have been working at the UJC

branch office in the city of Bukhara as a JICA volunteer dealing with different cultural events. In this Center I give lessons in Japanese calligraphy, preparation of Japanese national dishes and making “origami” . Below I would like to tell you about a girl who is attending my “origami” lessons.

At first this girl was modest and not talkative. She just used to nod unclearly when she was asked for something. She was not cheerful. She used to try to fulfill the assignment, however she never asked for help when the assignment was difficult. Despite this, she never missed my classes. She was not joyful even if she could do the assignment. And she used to attend my classes in this way.

At the beginning I paid more attention to her and tried to keep up the conversation with her. For example, I asked her several times what she would like to study and what figure she would like to make the next lesson. But I never got answers to my questions. Thereby her attitude had become an everyday occurrence for me and I paid to her not too much attention. Maybe, because of this I did not notice positive changes occurring in her.

As a matter of time she was changing for the better. Half a year has passed since I have been working at the UJC Branch Office in Bukhara when I first noticed the changes in her. If I remember, it was a day when we were dealing with one of the most difficult compositions in “origami”. That day the girl, who never asked a question even if the assignment was not clear to her, uttered “I did not understand” to me for the first time. She was full of joy and happiness when she finished the composition. This was sincere and joyful smile which I saw on her face.

From that moment I began watching her cheerful mood, how she was willingly communicating with others, how she was asking for help if something was not clear. At present she is giving me big hand in explaining the assignments during the lessons for the newcomer students at the Uzbekistan-Japan Center.

Actually I do not know how my classes have had an influence on her. Maybe, with the lapse of time, she has got accustomed to me and of course to the Center. But I think even if giving someone a cheerful mood and seeing happiness on the face may not be considered as a good outcome, it is definitely a big achievement.

With no doubt, I will go on working further in order to share with happiness to more people.

Minori KAWAGUCHI, JICA Volunteer

Statistical Data on the Business Courses Programs of the Uzbekistan-Japan Center

PMP, Course A

People

250

225

200

175

150

125

100

75

50

25

0

1.1

1.2

001

2.0

3.2

002

2.0

6.2

002

2.1

1.2

002

3.0

1.2

003

3.0

7.2

003

3.0

7.2

003

4.0

2.2

004

4.0

8.2

004

5.0

1.2

005

5.0

5.2

005

5.1

0.2

005

6.0

1.2

006

6.0

7.2

006

6.1

0.2

006

7.0

3.2

007

9.0

4.2

007

31.0

8.2

007

21.0

9.2

007

29.0

2.2

008

25.0

4.2

008

26.0

9.2

008

15.0

9.2

008

13.0

3.2

009

27.0

4.2

009

25.0

9.2

009

26.1

0.2

009

26.0

3.2

010

10.0

5.2

010

1.1

0.2

010

18.1

0.2

010

18.0

3.2

011

PMP-1PMP-2

PMP-3

PMP-4

PMP-5

PMP-6

PMP-7

PMP-8PMP-9

PMP-10

PMP-11

PMP-12

PMP-13

PMP-14

PMP-15

PMP-16Graduates

Applicants

Men

Women

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Course B

Course C

Course D

Junior management program (JMP)

600

550

500

450

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

Number of graduates

NEWS IN BRIEF

I became curious about the development issues while I was working in Azerbaijan as a staff of Japanese embassy. At that time, however, I did not even imagine that I would work for JICA in a few years. After I had completed the master's program, luckily, I got a chance to join the former Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). Thereby, I became close to the “world of development”, more precisely, ODA loan projects in the former Soviet Union countries, including Uzbekistan, and gradually I was lured into the loan assistance. By the way, it is also worth mentioning that I have been committing myself to the post-Soviet areas since my childhood.

Currently I work as an expert for facilitating ODA loan projects here in JICA Uzbekistan Office. ODA loan projects support developing countries by providing low-interest, long-term and concessional funds to finance their development efforts with economic and social infrastructure such as electricity, transportation and communications services. And most importantly, ODA loans are the financial assistance with repayment obligation, so they place a small fiscal burden on the Japanese side, therefore, I believe that ODA loan projects represent the very sustainable instrument for official development assistance and contribute to win-win outcome.

In Uzbekistan, so far, the agreements on 9 loan projects have been signed with the particular focus on the sectors of energy and transport, and these projects have been significantly contributing to the socio-economic development in Uzbekistan, which eventually helps to improve the well-being of the citizens. My duties are to facilitate the loan projects by providing assistance (for instance, in the issues of procurement and disbursement) to the concerned parties both on the pre-implementation and implementation stages, which will lead to smooth execution of the projects. Furthermore, I work on conducting studies to enhance the effectiveness of the loan projects, and also examine other donors' activities in order to search potentials of JICA's cooperation with them.

Last, but definitely not least, I would like to use this opportunity to express my gratitude to my colleagues. While working here in Uzbekistan, I have been depending upon countless acts of their support and guidance, and I believe without a doubt that the activities (loan assistance, in particular) of JICA by these staffs will keep contributing to the development of Uzbekistan.

Yoshiaki TABATAExpert for Facilitating Japanese ODA Loan Projects

Message from JICA Staff

Under the Project “Improvement of social protection and rehabilitation of disabled people in Uzbekistan” from June 2011 to June 2013, a long-term Expert on Social Rehabilitation, Ms. OHNO Junko is dispatched to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population. The overall goal of this project is to formulate a community based rehabilitation strategy concerning people with disabilities, with its further reflection and promotion in a policy/legislation process in Uzbekistan.

A new JICA Expert, Mr. SHAMOTO Yosuke, was dispatched to Uzbekistan in July 2011 under the Project, conducted between JICA and the Ministry of Justice, on Improvement of Administrative Procedures for the Development of Private Sector Activities.

Ms. ISHIKAWA Junko was dispatched to Uzbek-Japan Center as a successor of Ms. KIMURA Ami, Project Coordinator of UJC.

© JICA Uzbekistan Office 2011

Name

Mr. UJIIE Yuta

Ms. NISHIJIMA Amiko

Ms. KOIZUMI Kasane

Ms. HAGIWARA Nanami

Mr. TAKENAKA Hatsuo

Ms. MURASAWA Akiko

Mr. HIRAI Ryu

Mr. YASUTA Kazuki

Ms. NISHI Megumi

Japanese language teacher

Field

Japanese language teacher

Japanese language teacher

Nurse

PC Instructor

Nurse

Physical Education

Youth Activity

Preschool education

Samarqand Institution of Foreign Languages

Work Location

UJC Bukhara branch

University of World Economic and Diplomacy

Tashkent Emergency Medical Center

School No. 251, Tashkent

Tashkent Pediatric Medical Institute

Fergana Region Quva District Secondary School No.31

Children's Institute of Hematology

Kindergarten No.26, Rishtan

New JICA Experts were Dispatched

Mr. TABATA Yoshiaki (on the right)

JICA Uzbekistan Office5th floor, International Business Center,107-B, Amir Temur ave., Tashkent, 100084Republic of UzbekistanTel.: +(998 71) 120 79 66/67; 238 59 16/17/18/19Fax: +(998 71) 120 79 68E-mail: jicauz-rec@jica.go.jphttp://www.jica.go.jp/uzbekistan/english/

New JICA Volunteers were Dispatched to Uzbekistan (June, 2011)(Volunteers are listed in standing order from left to right)