On 4 October 2018, the first meeting of the coalition titled “Community Development and Participatory Governance Union” (“HamaZarK”) took place. During the meeting, the rules and regulations of the newly founded coalition were approved, the governing board was elected and new members were added to it.
The “HamaZarK” coalition is implementing the “Participatory Monitoring for the Creation of Smart Communities in Armenia” project. It is implemented in the scope of a grant allocated by the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project (CCD) funded by the European Union.
It is mentioned that over the past three years 12‐15% of the budget means of the communities of the Shirak, Lori, and Tavush marz centres have been directed at waste collection, utility services and environmental protection and yet no substantial changes are noticed. People are constantly dissatisfied with the services rendered and the relevant bodies
do not apply alternative solutions.
The goal of the “Participatory Monitoring for the Creation of Smart Communities in Armenia” project is to contribute to raising the quality of the services rendered by local government in the enlarged communities selected in these marzes through improving, monitoring and advocating for the public policy in the sector.
“Due to the coalition, the efforts of a group of organisations have been joined for the benefit of the development of these fields. This is just the beginning of our systemic and consistent work,” said Gharib Harutyunyan, the President of the project lead “Compass” NGO.
Karen Zadoyan, the Project Manager of the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project and the President of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association, delivered a welcome speech at the event. He also presented the CCD goals and the large-scale work already carried out.
Speaking about the newly founded coalition and its work, he advised that the society was involved to the extent possible and that the ties with it were strengthened.
Today, memoranda on becoming members of the “HamaZarK” coalition have been signed with 21 non-governmental organisations. Project Manager Haykaram Drmeyan noted that the number of the membership applications reached several dozens. However, the applications were satisfied, taking into account a number of criteria, such as sectoral experience, reputation, capacities.
