Starting from September 2022, Community Academy and Article 54 Public Union have started community building activities. Within this activity, needs assessment meetings were held with about 40 community activists. After the assessments, capacity building trainings were conducted based on local needs. These trainings culminated in the development of two action plans of 6 months each targeting the development of local communities by incorporating the topics of community building, community development, team building and public advocacy campaigns. The mentioned action plans were implemented by “Damiragac” Lankaran teachers and Astara “LimOn” communities with the support of Article 54 Public Union and covered local education and environmental issues.
As a result, an active and innovative community of secondary school teachers was formed in Lankaran, and this professional community operates under the name “Damiragac community”. The community group identified teachers, parents and students as the target group. In accordance with the established activity program, they held a seminar on new trends in education for school principals in Lankaran city, conducted an anonymous survey measuring student satisfaction in schools, and organized a psychological support for students preparing for final exams. Currently, members of the teachers’ community are preparing for a campaign to draw attention to the problem of early marriage and school dropout among girls.
Another community was formed in Astara operates under the name of Astara LimOn community. One of the activities of this community is related to environmental problems. A campaign aimed at drawing attention to the lack of waste bins in villages and towns in the Astara region resulted in a public hearing with relevant local institutions, stakeholders and citizens. LimON, a community-based organization, expressed its support for local social initiatives by creating bookstores in 3 remote villages of Astara within the framework of the “Towards the Light” initiative.
