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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000223 
 
SIPDIS 
 
REF: SECSTATE 00012531 
 
STATE FOR S/GWI, SCA/CEN, SCA/PPD, 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV SCUL KPAO TX
SUBJECT:  TURKMENISTAN: S/GWI PROJECT PROPOSAL 
 
ASHGABAT 00000223  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
 ¶1.   (U)  Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
 ¶2.  (U)    SUMMARY: Embassy Ashgabat proposes that S/GWI support 
the Tech Age Girls program in Turkmenistan. The Tech Age Girls 
project will address low technology literacy among young women in 
Turkmenistan and will encourage cvic participation among this 
critical demographic group.  Tech Age Girls is a proven program that 
has shown spectacular results in the past and, with a new model for 
implementation that includes local partners and private sponsorship, 
will increase women's involvement in the economy.  END SUMMARY. 
 
MASSIVE GAPS IN TECHNOLOGY TRAINING FOR WOMEN 
 
¶3. (SBU) During the first 17 years of Post-Soviet independence, 
Turkmenistan regressed drastically in the spheres of education, 
women's integration, and technology.  Former President Niyazov 
outlawed the internet, limited mandatory education to nine years, 
and implemented severe cultural changes that narrowed the role of 
women in leadership and society.  In the three years since Niyazov's 
death, Turkmenistan has made limited progress to rectify the harm 
caused by the Niyazov era.  Internet and computer training is still 
limited, human capacity nearly non-existent, and women's involvement 
in economy limited. 
 
A PROVEN PROGRAM - TECH AGE GIRLS 
 
¶4. (U) In 2007, the State Department began the first of three 
successful cycles of the Tech Age Girls (TAG) project in 
Turkmenistan.  The project addresses the lack of skilled women in 
the field of information technology (IT) by encouraging and training 
the most promising young women. Through a process in which they have 
the opportunity to further develop IT skills, learn from successful 
female leaders, and design their own community projects, 
participants take their first steps toward entering one of the most 
promising and dynamic fields in the global economy. 
 
¶5. (U) The program selects 100 girls for training that includes 
introductory courses on IT, Web design, and leadership skills. 
Beyond the training, tech age girls are taught the values of 
community service and are required to lead activities for Global 
Youth Service Day in their home towns.  After the first three months 
of training, each participant is able to regularly update their own 
blog and website focused on youth or women leaders in their 
communities.  At the end of the year-long program, 20 finalists are 
selected to participate in a two-week conference in Ashgabat.  In 
the past, UNICEF and the OSCE have supported the final conference. 
After the conference, each Tech Age girl receives a small grant to 
help them implement a community-based project. 
 
¶6. (U) After three successful years, the project came to a close 
with the end of the  Global Connections and Exchange Program (GCE) 
in Turkmenistan.  GCE had been funded by a U.S. Department of 
State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) grant and 
was administered by IREX.  Now with a partnership between IREX, 
American Councils and a local NGO, Embassy Ashgabat would like to 
resurrect Tech Age Girls. 
 
HOW DOES TECH AGE GIRLS WORK? 
 
¶7. (U) Tech Age Girls is a unique, innovative project for girls of 
grades 7 - 9 that puts technology to use in identifying and 
developing future women leaders in places where girls may not have 
the same opportunities as boys. Through local NGOs and with outside 
trainers, the project competitively selects a group of young women 
who demonstrate the potential for leadership and a commitment to 
sharing their enthusiasm, talent, and skills with their peers. TAG 
also helps young women contribute their voices to public discussions 
of critical issues and promotes the Internet presence of girls' 
perspectives in local languages.  Tech Age Girls participants join 
in a series of guided events that bring out their abilities, equip 
them for professional achievement, and inspire them to become 
leaders in their communities. 
 
¶8. (U) Tech Age Girls is a three phase project. Phase One lasts up 
 
ASHGABAT 00000223  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
to six months, during which participants are selected and strengthen 
their IT skills while forming an online community based on a series 
of online events.  Phase Two brings the highest achievers to a one- 
to two-week in-person workshop in the capital city, where girls 
participate in leadership training and meet influential, 
national-level women leaders.   Phase Three begins when participants 
return to their communities, remaining connected to a network of 
young women leaders who are implementing local projects and training 
their peers in key IT skills.  Upon completion of the first year, 
participants become mentors for following groups of Tech Age Girls, 
enhancing project sustainability and spreading its benefits even 
wider. 
 
¶9. (U) The project follows several steps.  First, applicants submit 
essays, create and update personal blogs, and volunteer in their 
communities. Second, entries are reviewed by a selection committee 
of project partners and evaluated based on their level of commitment 
and consideration of discussion topics; semi-finalists are then 
selected.  Third, semi-finalists complete introductory courses in 
IT, Web design, and leadership. Meanwhile, they continue to update 
their blogs, participate in bi-weekly online forums on women's 
issues, correspond weekly with mentors, and plan and lead volunteer 
initiatives. After the forums, semi-finalists design a website about 
a youth leader in their community.  Finally, finalists are selected 
based on the impact of their projects and their demonstrated 
potential to serve as local leaders.  The finalists attend a 
two-week workshop in the capital on advanced Web design, leadership, 
problem solving, and project design.  During their second week, they 
participate in a mini-internship at an IT firm, international 
organization, or government body.  After the finalist return home 
from the seminar, finalists implement the projects they designed at 
the workshop and foster the development of the next year's group of 
Tech Age Girls. 
 
¶10. (U) This model has worked, because IREX is selective with the 
participants, and uses the competitive nature of the application 
process to push them to develop and produce. TAG participants are 
producing at every stage. By requiring development of skills and 
resources and participation in TAG events over a period of several 
months, we learn which participants are most serious and ready for 
intensive training. By making this final selection, we focus on the 
best participants and devote fewer resources to those participants 
less likely to make an impact in their communities and follow 
through. The finalists are also taught to teach others, and they 
expand the impact of the training and opportunities we provided them 
upon their return home. Because they have worked six months 
together, the participants are more likely to communicate with each 
other independently and work together on projects. 
 
TECH AGE GIRLS BUDGET 
 
¶11. (U) The total budget for implementation of this new round of 
Tech Age Girls is $66,869. 
 
¶A. Personnel 
Washington Program Coordinator $1,500 
Program Director  - based in Kazakhstan $2,100 
IREX Turkmenistan Country Coordinator $396 
TAG Coordinator $5,200 
IREX Training and Web Development Coordinator $810 
Regional TAG Coordinators (4 - coordinators) $7,000 
Subtotal Personnel $17,006 
 
¶B. Fringe Benefits 
Washington staff $332 
Expatriate Staff $465 
Subtotal Fringe $797 
 
¶C. Travel 
Local Travel Pool - TAG Coordinator + TAG Regional Coordinators 
$1,600 
 Finalist Travel to Ashgabat for Summer Conference $630 
Ground Transportation  $700 
Summer Conference Meals (Lunch+Dinner+Coffee Breaks) $10,500 
 
ASHGABAT 00000223  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
Summer Conference Lodging in Ashgabat (includes breakfast) $4,200 
Subtotal Travel $17,630 
 
¶D. Supplies 
Office Supplies/Printing/Postage $5,270 
Equipment maintenance $300 
TAG Summer Conference 
T-shirts for Summer Conference $420 
Conference Hall Rental $250 
Subtotal Supplies $6,240 
 
¶E. Other Direct Costs 
Trainers at the TAG Conference  $360 
TAG Community Project Mini Grants $2,000 
Office Rent and maintenance $1,200 
Office Communications -  phone, Internet $960 
American Corner Extended Hours Operation Costs $8,000 
Subtotal Other Direct Costs $12,520 
 
¶F. Indirect Costs 
DC Facilities $402 
DC Overhead $558 
Field Overhead $5,235 
General & Administrative $6,481 
Subtotal Indirect Costs $12,676 
 
 
THE IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATION 
 
¶12. (U) Tech Age Girls is a program designed and previously 
implemented by IREX.  IREX is an international nonprofit 
organization providing leadership and innovative programs to improve 
the quality of education, strengthen independent media, and foster 
pluralistic civil society development. 
Founded in 1968, IREX has an annual portfolio of over $60 million 
and a staff of 500 professionals worldwide. IREX and its partner 
IREX Europe deliver cross-cutting programs and consulting expertise 
in more than 100 countries. 
 
A PLAN FOR SUSTAINABILITY 
 
¶13. (U) Post has a plan for the long-term sustainability of Tech Age 
Girls.  With a commitment for a private-public partnership with 
Chevron in hand, Post foresees an expansion of the project to reach 
more girls and provide better internship opportunities. 
Additionally, this new phase of Tech Age Girls calls for IREX to 
train a local partner for the long-term implementation of the 
project.  The local partner, an initiative group focused on 
education and women's issues, will shadow IREX trainers and work 
together to be able to replicate the program on a local scale.  Post 
anticipates that in the future, with a lower-cost local implementor 
and continued private support, Tech Age Girls can continue to 
successfully operate in Turkmenistan.  The project will be managed 
and monitored at Post by the Public Affairs Section of the Embassy 
and will be integrated into the assistance objectives of Post and 
the SCA bureau.  In February 2010 with Post completed an EUR/ACE 
sponsored review of its assistance objectives.  The Tech Age Girls 
address three of the five primary themes in our assistance 
objectives - increasing access to global information, increasing 
civic participation, and increasing access to quality education. 
TAG will allow these women to integrate themselves into the global 
economy, encourage them to become more active citizens, and improve 
their ability to receive a quality education. 
 
CURRAN