Participants of a roundtable discussion

The United Nations Volunteers Programme (UNV) organized and hosted a roundtable discussion with local volunteer based organizations at the UN House. 

The topic of discussion has been volunteerism in Armenia and the establishment of a Network of Volunteers Involving Organizations (VIOs) to improve inter-agency coordination and avoid wasteful duplication of efforts.
Participant organizations, nationally known for the number of volunteers involved and the impact of their contribution to development, were Aquatics Armenia, Armenian Caritas, Armenian Red Cross Society, the United Nations Association of Armenia (AUNA), the Civil Society Institute (CSI), Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF), the Republican Headquarters of Student Brigades (HUJ), Mission Armenia, Professionals for Civil Society (PFSC), Armenian Association for the Disabled (PYUNIC), The United Nations Department of Public Information (UN DPI) and the US Peace Corps.

“The purpose of these roundtable discussions is to not only introduce NGOs to each other, but to also share information, ideas, coordinate action, and organize general support at national level” said Sara Sangoi, UNV Program Officer.

The importance of volunteers and their contribution to development has been underlined through one training on volunteers’ management offered to all participants in collaboration with the Armenian Red Cross.  From this point on, discussion on topics of common interest started, such as the importance of volunteers for service delivery and NGO’s advocacy, and the resources that should and need to be planned for supporting volunteers. 

Concerns arisen on lack of legislation on volunteerism in Armenia, which make it difficult for NGOs to understand exactly how to protect and deal with volunteers.
Armenian collaboration with Azerbaijan and Georgia was also a key topic of discussion.  Though there is slow progress in communication between the governments of the three countries, specifically between Armenia and Azerbaijan, alliances between NGOs from these countries have demonstrating being successfully, and suggested to be promoted.

The network of NGOs decided to meet once a month to discuss various topics of concern, e.g. the launching of a National Survey on Volunteerism undertaken in collaboration with UNDP/UNV Bratislava.  Each meeting will be held at the offices of another of the participant NGOs. Suggestion has been given to encourage cooperation with NGOs in the regions.

“This is a start to not only improving and expanding on the network of NGOs, but also to continue the dialogue on volunteerism and the importance of it in Armenia” stated Sangoi.

UNV was present in Armenia since August 2008 upon the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) request, at the UNDP premises. UNV renders its services at the UN Country Team level, advising on volunteerism and UNV’s distinctive contributions to development.

UNICEF Representative in Armenia Ms. Laylee Moshiro and the Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Mr. Hovik Abrahamyan at the commemorative event held at the UN House dedicated to 20 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

UN Children’s Fund and the Armenian Parliament joined their voices to send a message on the importance of respecting child rights.

UNICEF Representative and Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia urged the public to make every effort to ensure that children fully enjoy their rights during the “Children Are Not Toys” photo exhibition organized with UNICEF’s support and under the auspices of the Armenian Parliament to commemorate 20 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“This exhibition is not just an opportunity to meet each other. In these photos you can also see children from orphanages. These children present the most vulnerable strata of our society. We should do our best to protect these children and their rights, so that they become full members of this society. I hope this event will help us to draw the attention of the society to this important problem”, the Chairman of the National Assembly noted.

“This year we celebrate a milestone – 20 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the great legal and ethical instrument for promoting and protecting the rights of all children and the beacon that guides UNICEF in all its work”, UNICEF Representative Laylee Moshiri, said, adding that 20 years after its adoption the Convention will continue to be the guiding framework on how societies should treat their children.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child was among the first international documents along with Human Rights Declaration to be signed by Armenia, immediately after the country re-gained independence in 1991.

 “The title of the photo exhibition is symbolic. Photos of children by Armenia’s renowned photographer Vigen Mnoyan send a powerful message that we cannot fashion our children after our desires, do with them whatever we want like we would do with toys, we must love our children and respect their rights,” the UNICEF Representative stressed.

“Finally, I would like to take the opportunity to express my gratitude to UNICEF for the fruitful and efficient cooperation we had in the last 15 years. This exhibition is an example of our cooperation. I am sure UNICEF will continue to promote child rights protection in Armenia, so that their rights for health and education are fully enjoyed”, the Chairman of the National Assembly noted.

The “Children Are Not Toys” photo exhibition marks a start of a series of events to mark 20 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  In addition to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, the photo exhibition will be on display in all major cities and towns of Armenia.

All those attending the photo exhibition are requested to bring with them toys that later on will be send to pre-schools and day-care centers in Armenia. 

The exhibition to be officially closed on 20 November, the day of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the UN General Assembly, in a solemn ceremony at the National Assembly of Armenia together with the launch of the UNICEF’s flagship publication, the State of the World’s Children 2009.

Armenian girl in national costume playing a qanon

On 22 May 2009, a gala event was held at the Erebuni Plaza Hotel in Yerevan to celebrate the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. The event was organized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Armenia, the Future is Yours non-governmental organization (NGO) and the United Nations information office (UNO) in Yerevan.

The participants at the gala enjoyed the cuisine of different countries as well as dances, songs and poetry performed by representatives of different nationalities. There was also an exhibition of art work handmade by talented youth. At the end of the gala, a cake, symbolizing cultural diversity, was served to the guests, accompanied by the sound of classic music and fireworks.

The gala closed a month-long festival celebrating cultural diversity. Approximately 100 people, representing refugees, national minorities, diplomatic missions and students among others, shared their countries' history, culture and traditions through a series of interactive events. Through the use of film, dance, song, poetry and food, people learned about the customs and values of countries such as Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Estonia, Romania, Greece, USA, Israel, Brazil, Syria, Iran, India, Azerbaijan and Iraq.

Please visit the photo gallery on UNO Yerevan's website for more photos of the festival.

Students from the Kotayk region of Armenia pose for a group picture in UN House

On 13-20 May 2009, high school students and teachers from five provinces of Armenia, namely Kotayk, Armavir, Gegharkuniq, Lori and Shirak, visited the UN House in Yerevan to learn about the work of the United Nations. Each group was comprised of approximately 40 high school students and their teachers and over the six day period, 200 students and 54 teachers were guests of the United Nations information office (UNO) in Yerevan and the UN Reference Library.

These outreach programmes were a follow-up to the memorandum of understanding signed on 10 May 2009 between the UN office in Yerevan and Jinishyan Memorial Foundation (JMF). The memorandum outlined their shared vision that public education was an excellent vehicle to foster democracy and to develop civically conscious and socially responsible citizens. By teaching young people about the complexities of democracy and providing them with intellectual tools, future citizens of the country would gain skills to analyze and explore issues fundamental to the development of society at large and civil society in particular.

Within this context, the focus of the outreach programmes was to increase the knowledge of young Armenians about the UN goals and principles related to the development of civil society, democracy and human rights. The students and teachers listened to a brief lecture by the Officer-in-Charge, watched the short film “United Nations: It’s Your World”, and viewed an animated film about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with an Armenian voice over.

Before they left, the UN office in Yerevan invited the students to join the "Friends of the United Nations" network, a recent initiative of the UN office in Yerevan in which members serve as a channel through which information about the United Nations reaches local communities, educational institutions and civil society.

For more photos from this programme, please visit the photo gallery on UNO Yerevan's website.