News

On October 28, 2015 the debate club members of the YES project from Sisian, Kapan cities and the villages of Shaqi and Brnakot visited the United Nations Office in Armenia. This was their first visit to the UN Armenia. Hasmik Sargsyan, the Outreach Officer of the UN Department of Public Information gave a brief review on UN activities and presented the history of the United Nations Office in Armenia. Schoolchildren were attentively listening to the projects that had been implemented since December 1992 in Armenia. Armenia was admitted to the United Nations on 2 March 1992, and on December of that year the United Nations established an office in Yerevan. Since then Armenia has signed and ratified a number of international treaties. The UN Country Team is headed by UN Resident Coordinator and consists of 15 specialized agencies, funds and programs. The latter implement projects that have objectives of halving extreme poverty, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, reducing the level of poverty and gender-based violence, decreasing the   maternal mortality, as well as promotion of the establishment of inclusive and child-friendly schools throughout Armenia. 

On October 26, 27 2015 the OSCE Office in Yerevan was full of schoolchildren. The debate club members of the Youth Engaged in Society project from Kapan, Sisian, Masis and Ashtarak came to a civic seminar to the OSCE Office in Yerevan. Despite the fact that it wasn’t the first time that the schoolchildren were hearing about the OSCE and that they had general knowledge about it, they had totally different feelings when they personally visited the OSCE Yerevan Office, communicated with the staff and felt the work rhythm. At the beginning Gohar Avagyan, the National Public Information Officer of OSCE Office in Yerevan presented the general activities of the OSCE. Participants were listening very attentively and watched films about the OSCE mission, activities and projects.

On October 27 the Jinishian Memorial Foundation in the framework of the Youth Engaged in Society project organized visit to the National Assembly for debate club members from schools of Gavar, Vardenis and Gyumri cities, as well as from Tsovak, Kartchaghbyur, Karmirgyugh, Marmashen, Tsoghamarg and Aregnadem villages. During the visit debate club members met with Fatma Khachatryan, head of library, who recounted them the history of the National Assembly and organized a tour in the building of the RA parliament.  Also the students had an opportunity to be present at the parliamentary session and watch the speeches of some deputies.
 
In the frame of the visit the Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Artak Davtyan met with students. Mr. Davtyan presented the spheres of the activities of the Committee, the working order and the procedures of the elaboration of the legislative initiatives and the establishment of the decisions making process of the NA Standing Committees, the activities and the authorities of the legislative body. He also referred to the process of the constitutional reforms of public interest and the possibilities given by the draft law.

On December 8 the Jinishian Memorial Foundation in the framework of Youth engaged in Society project organized visit to the National Assembly for debate club members from schools of Tchambarak city, as well as from Martuni, Getik, Mets Masrik and Achajur villages. During the visit debate club members met with Marusya Asatryan, the head of Information Department, who recounted them the history of the National Assembly and organized a tour in the building of the RA parliament.  Also the students had an opportunity to be present at the parliamentary session and got acquainted with the draft state budget of the coming year. 

In the frame of the visit the NA Deputy Speaker Hermine Naghdalyan met with the students. Ms. Naghdalyan presented the activities of the legislative body of the republic, the inner-political situation of the country and the expectations from the Constitutional Amendments. During the meeting the students had an opportunity to address questions to Hermine Naghdalyan which related to the referendum held on the Constitutional Amendments and the problems existing in the sphere of education. The overall feedback of the students to the meeting was more than positive. Some students were very excited to be in the NA Session hall and took photos with NA Deputy Speaker Hermine Naghdalyan. 

On October 26 and 29 the Jinishian Memorial Foundation organized informative and educational visits to the Armenia Tree Project Charitable Foundation for students from the debate clubs of secondary schools of Apna, Vardenis, Ashnak, Bazmaberd, Aqori, Hobardzi, Amrakits, Urut and Sverdlov villages, as well as from the debate clubs of Alaverdi schools #2, 8, 9 and Yerevan schools #103 and #127 in the framework of the “Youth Engaged in Society 2015-2016” project.  Around 49 students, the members of the debate clubs, and 5 mentors of the clubs participated in these visits. 

A two-hour meeting was devoted to the man-made environmental issues such as pollution and climate changes. During the meeting hot discussions took place about these issues and the students made some proposals on solutions of these problems. One of the students recommended using solar energy as an alternative to existing traditional energy resources emphasizing the fact that it would help to reduce air pollution and, thus, improve air quality. Another student put forward an interesting point concerning the climate changes. He offered to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as it was considered to be the key to the solution of global climate changes. At the end of the meeting the students came to conclusion that each of them played a key role in the process of solution of these man-made issues and was responsible for protecting the environment.