Project

Candid Foundation from Germany together with Eurasia Partnership Foundation from Armenia and the Humanitarian Research Union NGO from Azerbaijan will be conducting a project to contribute to rapprochement between Armenian and Azerbaijani civil societies.

Young professionals from both countries (as well as Nagorno-Karabakh) shall write short essays describing their ideas and visions of what life or aspects of life could look like if there was a peace deal in the next few years. How would it affect border villages? How will it feel to see the neighboring country for the first time or return after more than two decades? How will it affect the development of both countries? Our goal is to create a mosaic of positive visions for a shared future in the South Caucasus.

The essays will be published in a book as well as on a web platform. The Armenian and Azerbaijani participants will meet and discuss their ideas during a workshop in Georgia.

What we offer:

Participants will be part of the rapprochement efforts between the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides, and will contribute to deflecting an escalation of the conflict. They will get a chance to exchange views with Azerbaijani open-minded young adults, and a chance to publish a creative peace of work in an official setting.

Participants will also benefit from a small remuneration for their essays and an all-expenses-included trip to Tbilisi.

What we are looking for Armenian participants corresponding to these requirements:

- Age: 23-33

- fluency in English

- openness to dialogue with participants from Azerbaijan

- creativity, imagination and a penchant for writing

- ideally, but not necessarily a background in academia, thinks tanks, political activism, state/government institutions, journalism, art or writing

and finally

- the willingness to contribute a 3- to 5-page essay by mid-October 2015

If chosen, participants need to be in Yerevan for the Kick-Off Meeting on Friday, August 14, 2015. They should also be free for a 3-day workshop in Tbilisi in late September 2015.

Interested candidates should send an English-language CV and a few lines with 2 or 3 potential ideas (in English) for their essays to Ani Tovmasyan at [email protected]

Deadline for applications: August 9, 2015