Today, representatives of 15 civil society organizations (CSOs) from 7 marzes received certificates of completion of the educational certification program for civil society organizations at the American University of Armenia.
The educational program is organized in the framework of the EU funded “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” Project, which is aimed at developing of CSOs’ capacity and skills to initiate and develop an effective dialogue with the government and local self-governing bodies.
Ms Metaxia Davtyan from “Lori Citizens Union” Benevolent NGO notes that the training has been effective for jer and she has been thoroughly familiarized with such items as public policy development, budget monitoring tools, types of coalitions and their management skills.
“We will definitely apply it during the activities of our organization, because participation in the training was a must. We needed this knowledge, especially in public policy development and budget monitoring, and because at this point we have a change in strategic directions, and these directions have become dominant for us. In the near future, we will use the knowledge gained here,” Metaxia Davtyan said.
Mr. Arman Marukhyan, from Gavar Community of Gegharkunik marz, Director of “New Bayazet Community Development Benevolent Foundation” stated that the courses will have a great impact on their organization’s future activities. “The course gave us knowledge on forming coalitions and thus to be more effective in the development of public policies and decision-making,” the graduate of the CSO educational program noted.
It should be noted that about 120 CSO representatives from Yerevan and regions will participate in the educational program. Within the framework of the educational program the participants will be trained on the issues of public policy development, monitoring of public budget and public policies, coalition building and building CSO-Government constructive dialogue.
The “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project is implemented with the financial support of the European Union by a Consortium of civil society organisations, which are the Armenian Lawyers’ Association (lead organisation), Agora Central Europe (NGO based in the Czech Republic), the Armenian Centre for Democratic Education-CIVITAS, the International Centre for Human Development, the SME Cooperation Association and the Union of Communities of Armenia.