On March 16, a training on Social Entrepreneurship Institute provided by the new Law on Non-Governmental Organisations was organised in the scope of the EU-funded “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project for the representatives of 7 regional civil society organisations in Ijevan City.

Ms Anahit Alaverdyan, President of the “Ijevan Women’s Resource Center” Foundation, who is experienced in the field of social entrepreneurship, noted that it was especially important to learn about the changes in the tax field, which will help to avoid the obstacles. “We learned more about the advantages and problematic provisions in the taxation field.”

She also added that after learning about this project and meeting with the young participants of the training, she has an idea to form a joint coalition and start a more influential activity in this area.

Ms Marie Atabekyan, representative of the regional branch of “Bridge of Hope” NGO, noted that the new legislation already allows NGOs to engage in entrepreneurship. “The information provided here was useful as our organization wants to engage in social entrepreneurship.”

Mr. Hakob Avagyan, the Executive Director of the Project Partner SME Partnership Association of Armenia, Business and Related Sectors’ Coordinator of the project conducted the training. After the training, he answered the questions. He also said that CSOs are provided with free expert advice and support within the framework of the project.

If you also are a civic activist and want to receive legal support, please contact us at [email protected], register for the upcoming training to receive legal advice.

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.

The project aims to enhance the influence of civil society organisations (CSOs) and CSO coalitions/networks on public policies in Armenia. This will allow organisations that are already working in sectoral coalitions to access additional resources, new groups of civil society experts to come together and encourage place their causes on the local and national policy agenda, to identify common concerns and priorities and approach government bodies with constructive and strategic policy engagement initiatives.

The project will provide sub-grants to CSOs and CSO coalitions for developing public policies and bringing significant changes in the 9 target sectors selected within the project, including those of justice, education and business.