On 23-25 February 2016, regional capacity building workshop for the representatives of agricultural cooperatives was organized in Zaporizhya. The workshop has been conducted under the joint UNDP/EU project “Community-based approach to local development” (CBA). The event was facilitated by Olena Ruditch, CBA Communities Development Specialist, and Oleksandr Radionov, CBA Agri-business Expert.

Workshop participants from 12 regions (Vinnytsya, Volyn, Zaporizhya, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Ternopil, Kherson, Khmelnytsky, Chernivtsi, Cherkasy) learnt about different aspects of cooperative activities. In particular, they were introduced to CBA methodology related to establishment and functioning of Technical and information centers (TIC), including technical and practical aspects of TIC creation, provision of services, equipment procurement. They learnt how to use TIC as a marketing instrument in order to promote their services, for community development and finding partners, as well as about other TIC services according to the concept of Information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D). Besides, experience of existing TIC established during the CBA’s second phase, in particular in Ternopil, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Cherkasy and Kirovohrad regions was also presented to the audience.

Apart from the workshop, the participants also went on the field visits to the villages of Chapaevka and Kinski perehony, Zaporizhya region, to see the work of local TIC and discuss what technologies could be used in cooperatives and individual village households.

At the end of the workshop, the participants presented their vision of TIC development in their regions during the third phase of the CBA project.