After 25 years of armed hostilities in Afghanistan, a Grand Council, or Loya Jirga met in Kabul from 11 to 19 June 2002, the first such meeting in almost four
An infrastructure devastated by war, 3,000 participants and a budget of over 7 million euros. The planning and realisation of the Emergency Loya Jirga in 2002, the largest meeting of the Grand Council that Afghanistan had ever seen, was a challenge of exceptional dimensions. It allowed AgenZ to make full use of its motivation and flexibility – to great effect. The mammoth event marked a milestone in the peace process and the democratisation of Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai was confirmed in his role of President.
decades. Representatives of all ethnic and religious groups in the country elected a head of state and formed an interim government. One year later the Constitutional Grand Council met and negotiated a new constitution for the country. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) contracted GTZ AgenZ to organise both events. Only a few weeks were available to prepare the Grand Council. Generally a period of up to two years is required to plan and organise conferences on this scale.
The course of the project
Given the difficult political environment and the fact that the country's infrastructure lay in ruins following the war, the organisation of the Loya Jirga was a major challenge. The Grand Council met in the devastated grounds of the Polytechnical Institute of the University of Kabul. Besides restoring infrastructure, a wide range of tasks in the fields of logistics and conference management had to be planned, coordinated and realised. About twenty GTZ and AgenZ staff members from the fields of construction, logistics, personnel and contracts, the legal division, and conference management worked around the clock at Head Office in Eschborn and in Kabul in order to ensure that the Grand Council meeting could go ahead as planned. The 2002 Loya Jirga was seen to be a huge step forward on Afghanistan's path to democracy. The almost 1,700 delegates (a total of more than 3,000 people were involved in the Loya Jirga) elected Hamid Karzai as President of the new interim government on 19 June 2002. After this Loya Jirga, the Constitutional Grand Council in 2003 marked a further milestone in Afghan politics: 500 delegates agreed on a compromise and adopted a new constitution for the country.Services provided by GTZ and AgenZ
- Planning and putting in place the infrastructure for the two conferences
- Provision of appropriate conference conditions
- Repair work to the ground where the Loya Jirga was to be held
- Provision of infrastructure, e.g. water supply and sanitation services
- Conference technology and logistics
- Accreditation and registration of delegates, personnel and visitors
- Provision of accommodation, catering and medical services
- Information and communication
- Establishment of a press centre with live broadcasts
- Contract and personnel management
- Coordination of all organisational, administrative and security-related elements
Contact person
Zitat
We are endeavouring to give as many Afghans as possible a job and an income in their own country. We operate like a local employment promotion programme.
Andreas von Schumann, Executive Director AgenZ
Andreas von Schumann, Executive Director AgenZ
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