Reverse Linkage

31 DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION capacity as the government of Turkey’s main technical cooperation agency; and the Yıldırım Beyazıt University as a provider of expertise, participated in the project as the main partners. The project, with a budget of US$1,200,000, seeks to boost the capacity of SMAHS by providing necessary and sustainable training to Gambian medical professionals and adequately equip the laboratories, upgrade the curriculum and improve the SMAHS ICT infrastructure in line withThe Gambia National Health Policy 2012–2020 and the 10-Year Strategic Framework of IsDB. The project was inaugurated in September 2016 with the skills development component of the SMAHS medical teaching staff. The renovation of the laboratories and provision of the necessary equipment is planned for 2018 and the project is due for completion in the first quarter of 2019. Reverse Linkage in Uganda: the Islamic University in Uganda Vocational Training Centre Project Figures on Uganda’s labour market structure, especially unemployment rates, highlight a skills mismatch as well as VET-related challenges of the job market. In 2013, youth unemployment at 11.1 per cent was higher than the average for the entire working age population of 9.4 per cent. Female youth unemployment at 10.9 per cent, was higher than male unemployment of 8.1 per cent. 2 In the light of this, the RL project aims to meet vocational training needs in Uganda, especially for some specific training branches that are instrumental in producing qualified personnel in sectors such as carpentry, metalwork, ICT, construction, photogra- phy, web design, culinary arts, and bee keeping. This aims at preparing young people in Uganda to meet the current demands of the job market. The project is of the utmost importance in that it addresses the challenge of inadequate skills among the youth, and is targeted on increasing the capacity of the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) in the field of technical vocational education. The project is run by the main partner institu- tions: IsDB, TİKA, SESRIC, and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Lifelong Learning Center (ISMEK) with a total joint pooled resource of approximately US$1 million, and planned for launch in 2018. IsDB’s Technical Cooperation Programme has been put into practice through organiz- ing an on-the-job training programme in Istanbul to lend impetus to the project, which includes capacity building training and equipment supply for the training-of-trainers programmes. The objective is that, by the end of the project, the IUIU will be set up to sustain its vocational education programmes with competent trainers and within a fully equipped and modernised institutional environment. Libya: state building through SSC in a fragile and conflict-affected context The BINA initiative is a joint flagship programme run by the Libyan Programme for Reintegration and Development (LPRD), IsDB and SESRIC to support reintegration and the process of state building in Libya through SSC tools such as capacity building, exchange of knowledge and trans- fer of expertise. The initiative is a remarkable example of addressing the development process of the conflict- and post-conflict-affected countries of the Middle East and North Africa whose limited capacity to articulate develop- ment needs into comprehensive SSC initiatives profoundly affects their access to other countries’ expertise. The programme is built on three pillars: research on rein- tegration, development and state building; capacity building of public administration; and governance and SME develop- ment and empowerment. Kampala, Uganda: The Reverse Linkage project will pool the technical and financial contributions of the partnering institutions with a view to increasing the capacity of IUIU Study visit to the Turkish embassy in Kampala, Uganda. Turkish national institutions, , YBU and YTB will be Reverse Linkage project providers Image: SESRIC Image: SESRIC