Public association Echo is Kazakhstan nonpolitical noncommercial nongovernmental organization established in 1998. Mission of organization is involvement of citizens in process of decision making on all levels of government.
Directions of activity include:
- Defense and promotion of human rights and freedom
- Promotion of gender equality
- Public oversight of Kazakhstan state bodies activity
- Development of Kazakhstan civil society
In the projects Echo adheres to the principle of coverage "from identification of problems to solvation" and performs activities including researches, training, informing and advocacy.
Project activity of Echo covers both urban and rural residents.
Over the past five years Echo has conducted a number of studies and issued reports on independent evaluation of the electoral process, influence of changes in the legislation on local self-government, participation of urban and rural population in decision-making processes, on access to information in Kazakhstan. Echo’s staff directly participated in the preparation of the National Report of Kazakhstan on Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). EITI report discloses detailed information about the country's income from the extractive industries. Echo's program director Mariya Lobacheva was elected as EITI International Board member for the second term 2023-2026.
Echo has long-term experience and personal elaboration in:
- organization and conducting advocacy campaigns at national level;
- analysis of legislation and its influence on human rights and freedom;
- content-analyses of media on social-political and social-economic issues;
- social research of social-political and social-economical processes at the level of region, republic, separate localities and communities;
- independent monitoring of electoral process including analysis of legislation;
- conducting trainings and consultations for NGOs;
More than a million citizens of Kazakhstan are aware of their rights and freedoms, opportunities to participate in decision-making due to information materials developed by Echo.
Echo’s experts are included in the working group on development of local self-government, the National Council of the Stakeholders on EITI. Experts trained by Echo entered the working groups under National Council of the Stakeholders.
Echo interacts with the mission of OSCE / ODIHR and with representatives of other international organizations in the sphere of protection of citizens' rights.
Materials developed by Echo on the practical application of the rules of the local government, clarifying the rights policy for NGOs are widely demanded by the beneficiaries.
Echo has fully completed Counterpart International Certification Process within the framework of Kazakhstan Civil Society Program in 2011-2014 and meets standards for programmatic, administrative and direct contracting capacity.
Echo has developed partner network throughout the Republic of Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Echo’s staff members train representatives of partner network in order to improve the organizational development of regional NGOs.
