On 27April, CSO incubators’ groups (24 CSO members) met with the Governors or Deputy Governors of Shirak, Lori, Gegharkunik, Syunik marzes or regional administrators within the framework of the EU-funded “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” Project and reached agreements on cooperation.

During the meetings the officials were familiarised with the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” Project. It was noted that the mission of incubators created within this framework of the Project was to provide professional and technical assistance to CSOs aimed to develop their capacities in the 9 target areas of the project.

Mr. Artur Khachatryan, Acting Governor of Shirak marz, noted that it would be desirable for NGOs to keep in touch with territorial bodies so that the latter are informed about the programs in the marz and participate in them.

Deputy Governor Mr. Andranik Hakobyan met with the representatives of CSOs in Gegharkunik marz. He attached importance to the format of the project where the organisations will work on a cooperative basis, noting that as a result, the implemented programs could be more effective.

During the meeting with Mr. Vardan Davtyan, Deputy Governor of Syunik marz the parties touched upon the development of tourism and the tourism routes in the marz, highlighting the joint work of state bodies and CSOs in that regard.

Mr. Tigran Badoyan, Deputy Governor of Lori marz expressed the readiness of the Governing Body to assist CSO incubators. He presented recommendations on the options and formats for further cooperation.

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.