In-country Fellowship Program in Kabul, Afghanistan: Rural and Forestry Development May 1 ~ May 5, 2016

Entrusted by the Korea International Cooperation Agency(KOICA) a short-term country fellowship program is scheduled to be convened in Kabul, Afghanistan during the first week of May, 2016. The In-country Fellowship Program - Rural and Forestry Development of Afghanistan - is a rare opportunity for twenty(20) Afghan policy makers and practitioners to have the chance to share the development experience in rural and forestry development, especially in the area of forest rehabilitation and improved forestry management and to learn some new knowledge and innovative practices as well as to inspire an up-lifted motivation and willingness for accelerated rural development and sustainable forestry management by learning from Korea's development experience in her earlier national development decades.

Programmed by the Korea Institute for Rural Development(KIRD) a couple of Korean senior experts - Dr. Lee Kyung Joon, Professor Emeritus, Seoul National University and Dr. Han Do Hyun, Professor, the Academies of Korean Studies - will visit Afghanistan, deliver lectures and lead the progression of the in-country program in Kabul. The KOICA Afghanistan Office will organize and support the program in collaboration with the General Directorate of Natural Resources and Management, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock(MAIL), Afghanistan.

The five(5)-day program will highlight two topics: (1) Community-driven participatory rural development; and (2) forestry rehabilitation and sustainable forest management. By deepening our understanding on some important issues of the target topics and sharing development experience between the two countries, the middle and high ranking officials could be able to explore some policy options and required practical approaches toward addressing the pressing issues in the country.

Subsequent to this in-country program in Kabul, an in-depth two(2)-week invitational program will be followed a couple of months later during July this year in Korea. A detailed course information(CI) which will reflect the outcome of the in-country program would be modified, then delivered to the nominated participants to the invitational program.