QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

Spring 2012, Issue 8

Benevolent

NGO

A Volunteer Resource and Training Center in Yeghegnadzor

On April 21, 2012, the Yeghegnadzor Volunteer Re- possible with the support of a USAID/Peace Corps source and Training Center was officially opened in sponsored Small Project Assistance grant and the hard Yeghegnadzor. Establishment of the Center was made work of Youth Bank volunteers. After hosting an Open House, in which the center was introduced to the community, seminars were organized on volunteering, project development, and budget-writing. Although there was light turn-out for the first seminar on volunteerism, it was well presented and was a good starting point for the rest of the project. The second seminar was about project development. During the seminar, the participants were put into groups and asked to develop their own projects. Project ideas included: toy collections for children in orphanages, a paper recycling program in schools, handicraft classes, and adding street lights. After these two seminars, the participants learned the basics on how to write budgets for their projects.
Opening of the Center

EED Representatives Visit Syunik

In May Caroline Kruckow, Policy Officer on Peace and Development and Representative of EED in the working group on Peace & Development/FriEnt, and Levan Abashidze, EED regional consultant for South Caucasus, were hosted at Syunik NGO. In addition to visiting Syunik NGO headquarters and learning about recent developments and accomplishments of the organization, guests also had field visits to our nursery and the Hermon Community Center. In the nursery, farmers were pleased to meet the guests and express their happiness about ongoing agricultural initiatives which support agriculture development in the region. Guests were impressed with the diversity of initiatives being implemented by Syunik.

Caroline Kruckow (left) and Levan Abashidze (second from right) in Syuniks Headquarter Office

Media Roles Workshop in Yeghegnadzor

Nowadays, in difficult situations, we respond (or fail to respond) to external impulses based on either our world outlook, life experiences, or perceptions of different phenomena. What are the factors that affect our conscious attitudes towards the world or various political and civil phenomena? What is the role of information and rhetoric spread by media outlets? The participants of the seminar entitled Media Roles, held in newly opened Yeghegnadzor Volunteer Resource and Training Center , Vayots Dzor region on May 8-9, 2012, were trying to find the answers to these and many other questions. The idea of organizing the discussion came from Marine Aghajanyan, an employee of Syunik NGO in Yeghegnadzor. Having participated in the Conflict Transformation training course held by Peace Dialogue NGO held on March 26-April 1, 2012, Marine took part in the small grants project for youth announced within the framework of Peace Dialogues Lets See Lets Choose Lets Change project. Peace Dialogues staff approved Aghajanyans project and granted financial support. In addition, the project staff got an invitation from Marine to facilitate and film the discussion. It has always been very important and interesting for us to study what ideologies our media outlets are dictating and what actions they are encouraging with their many movies, news programs, and even with their soap operas said Edgar Khachatryan, Peace Dialogue chairperson. During the meeting we tried to present some of the problems and concerns revealed by our studies. The participants of the Media Roles seminar showed great interest in the topic and affirmed that they had never before critically considered messages, open and hidden, of the information spread by media outlets. Peace Dialogue NGO

Group work session

Theater Performance in Vayk SSC

On May 4th, 2012 Vayk SSC hosted a theatre group from Goris who performed a play entitled To Divorce. The performance focused on a story about a family going through difficulties the pre- and post-divorce challenges were presented. The audience consisted of youth, teachers, parents and NGO representatives who were very interested in the play and actively participated in the discussion which was done afterwards. The event was organized in partnership with New Horizon NGO from the Syunik region.

The Role of Informational Technologies

Last quarter, a new collaboration was established with New Horizon NGO from Goris, Southern Armenia. Within this collaboration, a seminar on the role of informational technologies was organized at Gitelik University, Yeghegnadzor. Participants of the workshops were university students and young activists who were introduced to a variety of online resources available on the web and how to best make use of them. The important role the internet and online resources play in forming a civic society and having fair election processes were also presented and discussed. At the end of the workshop, participants were given a list of helpful web sites where they can read and be informed about various newsletters and articles in electronic format, as well as find career and scholarship opportunities.

EED Partner Organization Networking Workshop

In May a networking workshop on peace and reconciliation in the South Caucasus was conducted in Yerevan, Armenia. The workshop was hosted by YMCA Europe/YMCA Armenia and funded by EED. It aimed to improve networking between EED partner organizations and exchange experiences. Representatives from 13 organizations in the South Caucasus attended the workshop and shared information and knowledge on peace and reconciliation/regional cooperation work carried out under the direct funding of EED or under funding of other donors. Syunik NGO was represented by Nara Martirosyan and Tatevik Harutyunyan, who shared various peace building cross-border initiatives implemented by the organization.

Facilitators of the workshop

Staff and Volunteers Develop Professionally

In May, 2012, HEKS-EPER, one of our long term partners, conducted training on Leadership and Facilitation for leaders from Armenia and Georgia who will be working at the Peace Camps for South Caucasus this summer. The training took place in Borjomi, Georgia and covered a number of topics related to good leadership and efficient facilitation. Young leaders from Syunik NGO also participated in the
Tatevik Harutyunyan and Gevorg Matevosyan attended the Outcome and Impact Oriented Planning and Monitoring workshop in Sighnaghi, Georgia. The workshop was funded by EED and was for those partner organizations that are preparing to submit new proposals in 2012. Marine Aghajanyan participated in the Conflict Transformation training course held by Peace Dialogue NGO from March 26-April 1, 2012. The course offered participants practical knowledge and skills for the most effective ways to solve conflicts. Hasmik Sargsyan and Marine Aghajanyan participated in Joint Civic Education introductory seminar in Vanadzor, Armenia. During the seminar, young people from Armenia tried to identify challenges existing in their society, setting objectives for individual development and designing volunteer projects which could later on be implemented in local communities. Syunik NGO young staff members took part in Social Media training in Georgia. Participants of the training were introduced to basic concepts of social media and discussed challenges in the field.
Tel/Fax: +374 (0281) 24009 Email: oipa.syunikngo@yahoo.com www.syunikngo.am

trainings and came back with new knowledge and skills that could be utilized during their work at the camp.

Nara Martirosyan Office of International & Public Affairs Syunik Benevolent NGO
Benevolent NGO

Momiki St. 5, 3601 Yeghegnadzor, Vayots Dzor Province, Republic of Armenia