Civil Society Organizations and Mass Media should be actively involved in fight against the corruption. An awareness seminar on “Multi-Faceted Anti-Corruption Promotion” project supported by the European Union was organized in Vanadzor to touch these issues.
“The fight against corruption in Armenia is currently in a very important stage and it needs consolidation of the efforts of the powers and the CSOs, to be able to fight against this occurrence as well as to curb it,” Karen Zadoyan, President of the Armenian Young Lawyers Association, “Multi-Faceted Anti-Corruption Promotion” Project Manager said.
It is planned to organize anti-corruption training for the CSOs and media organizations in the framework of “Multi-Faceted Anti-Corruption Promotion” project, with the purpose to enable them to gain a better understanding of anti-corruption and freedom of information issues and to strengthen their ability to engage in anti-corruption activities. Further the CSOs and media organizations that have completed the training will have the opportunity to participate in tenders for small grants to undertake monitoring, watchdog activities and journalistic investigations; create the CSOs anti-corruption coalition aimed to establish a dialogue with the government on the establishment of the independent anti-corruption body and on criminalization of the illicit enrichment.
“We are very proud and honored to have given this grant to Armenian Young Lawyers Association. And we hope that it’s going to make a big impact in fighting corruption,” Mr. Jose Maria Medina Navarro, Deputy Head of Cooperation Section of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia said.
Representatives from CSOs and media organizations attended the awareness seminar. Mr. Arthur Nalbandyan, Governor of Lori marz mentioned that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed two years ago between the Armenian Young Lawyers Association and marz administration, where they undertook obligation to fight against such a vicious occurrence as corruption.
“I believe that the cooperation should be continued focusing the attention on the initiatives aimed at reduction of the corruption risks,” Mr. Arthur Nalbandyan, Governor of Lori marz of the RA.
The project was launched in 2014 and will last till the end of December 2016. The project budget is 650.000 EUR.
