Salyan, 20 October 2017 - A new Women Resource Centre has been opened in the Salyan district of Azerbaijan today as a result of a partnership among the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs (SCFWCA) and The Coca-Cola Foundation.

The opening event has been attended by the Head of Salyan district Executive Authority, Sevindik Hatamov, the Chairperson of the SCFWCA Hijran Huseynova, the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Ghulam Isaczai, and Public Affairs and Communications manager of Coca-Cola in the Caucasus and Central Asia region, Alexandra Akkirman.

The resource centre in Salyan joins a network of other women centres in Sabirabad, Neftchala, Bilasuvar and Masalli districts also established in a partnership between UNDP and the SCFWCA to help rural women strengthen their presence in community life.

The centres serve as a public platform to plan and coordinate women’s economic and social initiatives, and provide opportunities for capacity building, entrepreneurial activity, vocational education and gaining public voice.

At today’s ceremony, nine women were given in-kind awards during the ceremony to enable them to start their businesses while 20 female graduates of vocational course received their certificates.

To this date, as part of the initiative for economic and social empowerment of rural women and youth supported by The Coca-Cola Foundation, UNDP trained some 400 women on economic, educational and social skills in Neftchala and Salyan districts. It also supported the development of 28 women-led businesses; raised awareness about gender and violence issues among 1,300 men and women; provided vocational education to 114 young rural women; and improved water and sanitation facilities for over 800 girls in six rural communities.