DUSHANBE, November 29, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- The Adult Education Association of Tajikistan (AEAT) conducted a seminar on November 28 to discuss problems facing it and determine the strategy of activities for 2009.

The seminar participants included representatives of 22 member organizations of the Association.  Ms. Anita Jacobson, Manager of the Project Support to Professional Education in Tajikistan, and Mr. Ed Beaman, Regional technical Adviser, the USAID Business Environment Improvement (BEI) Project, acquainted them with structures and activities of the adult education associations of a number European and American countries.    

Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, the AEAT executive director, Ms. Muhabbad Haidarova, said that the strategy of the Association’s activities for 2008 had been developed on the basis of experience of the mentioned associations.   

According to her, the Adult Education Week was held in Tajikistan on November 20-26.  A number of job and service fairs and roundtable meetings were conducted on sidelines of the Week.

The Adult Education Association of Tajikistan (AEAT) was founded at the general meeting on December 26, 2006 and registered in April, 2007.  The initiators of the organization are German Adult Education Association (DVV International) in partnership with the Association of Scientific and Technical Intelligentsia (ASTI).  The founders of AEAT were 13 organizations, which work in various areas of adult education.

The mission of the organization is to create opportunities for the adult population of Tajikistan, to improve their level of cultural, historical, civil and professional education.  The educational courses offered should be geared to local labor market demands to improve the participants'' incomes and general livelihood. Finally, further institutional development of the association, as well as the permanent education of its employees has to be assured.