From November 1, 2020, to March 31, 2023, the Eurasia Partnership Foundation, in collaboration with the Embassy of Sweden in Yerevan and SIDA, has been actively engaged in the implementation of the Civil Society Support for Ensuring Impact on Reforms (CS Support) project, aiming to provide comprehensive assistance to civil society organizations in Armenia.
As part of the project, EPF has granted 10 Invited grants to InfoTuns, which are operational in 10 different regions of Armenia. These grants were allocated throughout the duration of the project to strengthen the capacities and effectiveness of InfoTuns in their respective regions.
Thematic focus: Education, violence prevention, youth integration, rethinking Soviet architecture in regional cities, conflict of interest and anti-plagiarism.
Below, you will find a description of the projects. The activities and progress made within these projects are detailed in the attached document.
Aragatsotn InfoTun: Lyupin NGO
Project duration: August 1, 2021-December 10, 2022
Budget: AMD 10,000,000
The Aragatsotn InfoTun project aimed to integrate the methods of non-formal education in schools. The InfoTun cooperated with several schools in the Talin community and studied the educational situation there. Within the project, ToTs for elementary school teachers were conducted on non-formal education, and a cooperation was established with Student Councils.
Vayk InfoTun: Work and Motherland NGO
Project duration: August 1, 2021-December 10, 2022
Budget: AMD 10,000,000
One of the major components of Vayk InfoTun’s project was addressing the issue of plagiarism and lack of academic writing skills among students of Vayots dzor region. To implement the project, the Vayk InfoTun signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Armenian State University of Economics (ASUE) Yeghegnadzor branch. The InfoTun invited distinguished experts to conduct set of trainings on data collection and analysis, media literacy, research methodologies in the context of academic writing, as well as workshops on academic writing, how to avoid plagiarism, and local advocacy. There are a number of service providers who write academic reports and theses for a fee without acknowledging that it is an act of plagiarism.
Ijevan InfoTun NGO
Project duration: August 1, 2021-December 10, 2022
Budget: AMD 10,000,000
The Ijevan InfoTun held information sessions with different groups of volunteers, who got engaged in the four thematic directions of the project.
One of the main components of the Ijevan InfoTun project was the improvement of the quality of academic writing, development of analytical skills and introducing effective anti-plagiarism systems via the development and adoption of a module on academic integrity for the st and 2nd grade students at the Yerevan State University Ijevan Branch. The Ijevan InfoTun arranged a meeting with YSU Ijevan branch representatives to introduce them to a major project component: prevention of plagiarism. The university welcomed this unique initiative and promised to support the InfoTun. Overall, the InfoTun staff (after the ToT for InfoTuns conducted by expert Harutyun Vermishyan) conducted four training sessions on anti-plagiarism and academic integrity for about 75 students and volunteers.
Armavir InfoTun: Armavir Development Center NGO
Project duration: August 1, 2021-December 10, 2022
Budget: AMD 10,000,000
The first direction of the project aimed at addressing expressions of violence, bullying, and discrimination in the school system through workshops for teachers and support in implementing small projects initiated by teachers. These activities laid the ground for the establishment of the Armavir Teachers’ Club, which focused on four main issues: critical thinking and media literacy, addressing bullying in schools, promoting academic integrity and preventing plagiarism, and promoting inclusive education for vulnerable groups.
Gyumri InfoTun: KhoranArd NGO
Project duration: August 1, 2021-December 10, 2022
Budget: AMD 10,000,000
The project aimed to study the role of the local authorities in resolving inter-residential, family and neighbor conflicts and cases of violence in Sarapat, Amasia, Ashotsk communities and reveal how the non-formal function of “dispute resolver” affects the traditional functions of LG. The function of “dispute resolvers” is not institutionalized and there is no detailed specification of its role. Consequently, some people with high reputation and specific titles (such as administrative representatives, mayors, social workers, etc.) undertook this role in remote villages.
Vanadzor InfoTun: NGO Center NGO
Project duration: August 1, 2021-December 10, 2022
Budget: AMD 10,000,000
The first component of the project aimed at addressing bullying, discrimination and violence in educational institutions. The InfoTun addressed the issue via trainings and the development of visual materials (posters and comic strips) on these issues. Series of trainings on prevention of violence and bullying for the teachers and students of the six selected educational institutions were organized. Initially, participants enriched their understanding on the types of violence and bullying at schools through a lecture, which was later illustrated through the development of comic strips. In parallel, a workshop was organized dedicated to the process of creating comic strips, which became the major tool for addressing the issue. The InfoTun hired an expert who consulted the participants on how to develop sketches and deliver messages through comic strips. During the training participants were given practical tasks to develop images and pilot their own comic strips.
Ararat InfoTun
Project duration: August 1, 2021-December 10, 2022
Budget: AMD 10,000,000
The first component of the project aimed to present and compare the role and engagement of Yezidi women in the Soviet and post-Soviet Armenia’s labor markets through the collection and presentation of oral stories. The InfoTun visited the library in the Ararat city to explore the available literature and newspaper publications related to the labor market of the Soviet times. They also explored online sources, but encountered challenges in finding specific literature related to Yezidi women online. The InfoTun partner Haje Bakoyan, who is a school teacher and Yezidi, was interviewed. Based on this interview a script was developed and used for research and media articles. Haje Bakoyan engaged Yezidi pupils in research activities: they studied the archives related to the labor market of the Soviet Armenia. This helped them enlarge their understanding about the history of their communities. The InfoTun also engaged the expert Eviya Hovhannisyan, who helped to develop the methodology for collecting oral stories. The interviewed Yezidi women were mainly involved in agricultural activities, in kolkhozes or collective farms of the Soviet times, and could not recall any discrimination cases against the Yazidi people. The Ararat InfoTun produced and published an article, interviewed and filmed two video-stories on Yezidi women. The first one covers the issues of engagement of Yezidi women in the labor market during the Soviet times. The second interview was conducted with a Yezidi activist Zemfira Kalashyan, who spoke about the main activities carried out by Yezidi women. This project component resulted in dissemination of anti-discrimination values, as well as provided insights about areas of engagement among Yezidi women during the Soviet times. To widely publicize the videos, Boon TV put the videos online and disseminated them among broader public. Friendly relations between the Armenian and Yezidi young people, in particular the Sinjar Yezidi National Union NGO, who took part in the collection process of oral stories, were established.
Martuni InfoTun: Martuni Women Community Council NGO
Project duration: August 1, 2021-December 10, 2022
Budget: AMD 10,000,000
The project aimed to study and introduce the cultural life of Martuni region during the Soviet times and analyze its influence on the present-day life. The study focused on the restrictions in cultural life and their influence on social behavior. The project also studied the current cultural life of the villages of Martuni region, available resources and opportunities for rethinking the cultural life and functional features of the Community Culture Houses, develop proposals and recommendations to be addressed by the local authorities and civil society actors.
Syunik InfoTun: Goris Press Club NGO
Project duration: August 1, 2021-December 10, 2022
Budget: AMD 10,000,000
The project aims to study the history of the Soviet-era repressions in the Syunik region and introduce the results to the wider public to boost the discourse on democracy and human rights. The InfoTun team held focus group discussions and interviews and conducted desk research to collect the necessary materials for the topic. The InfoTun also engaged the representatives of the expert community to provide methodological support for data collection and analysis. One of the selected methods for the study is the collection of oral narratives from the families who were victims of repressions.
Kotayk InfoTun: Child and Family Development NGO
Project duration: August 1, 2021-December 10, 2022
Budget: AMD 10,000,000
The project implemented by Kotayk InfoTun aimed to approach anti-corruption in the government procurement system through monitoring the state services in public healthcare system and studying corruption cases in medical institutions in the Kotayk region. The quality of the state services in the public healthcare system is not studied adequately. Usually, the main users of these services are poor people. According to many users, paid services provided by the hospitals or ambulatory facilities are higher quality than the free (government procured) ones. This implies probable corruption cases, which remain undiscovered and unvoiced. Trying to bring attention to this issue, the Kotayk InfoTun implemented a project aiming to monitor the social support services in healthcare system through the monitoring of services provided by hospitals and through interviews.
The text was updated on May 30, 2022
"Civil Society Support for Ensuring Impact on Reforms” project is implemented by Eurasia Partnership Foundation with the support of Swedish Government.