Participants in the training list key issues facing their youth organization

A new foundation that promises something new in Armenia

YEREVAN—The Hrayr Maroukhian Foundation (HMF), a social democratic think tank founded in 2009 in the Republic of Armenia is a non-profit Armenian foundation committed to the development and advancement of public policy issues that espouse the basic values of social democracy through education, training, research, and regional and international cooperation.

The aims of the foundation are to contribute to and actively promote a comprehensive national, regional and international dialogue focusing on current political, economic and social developments and challenges, with a primary concentration on Armenia and the South Caucasus.

Among its many diverse projects, the Foundation produces academic research papers to serve in political decision-making and policy, organizes conferences and round tables, publishes studies on social democracy and conducts trainings for young political leaders.

Since its creation, the HMF has initiated and executed several key projects.

Participants in the Hrayr Maroukhian Training, May 2011, Dilijan

In order to address a number of deeply rooted problems in the Republic of Armenia and ensure the development of social democracy, sufficient policy research needs to be developed. For this reason the Hrayr Maroukhian Foundation along with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation of Germany conducted a groundbreaking study on social reform in Armenia. The purpose of this study is to present an alternative vision for social reform in the country by developing feasible, financially sustainable policy options in the areas of housing, unemployment and health. Through a designated working group of experts focusing on each specific policy area, this study aims to implement the populations’ right to quality housing, employment and accessible and affordable health care. The Hrayr Maroukhian Foundation is currently in the final phase of publishing the final policy paper in Armenian and English and will present it to government officials, political parties, academics, non-governmental organizations and foundations and international organizations at a conference in November 2011 in Yerevan.

As an important means for the dissemination of social democratic principles, the Foundation recently translated and published “Foundations of Social Democracy.” This book, originally printed in German, serves to provide individuals with a better understanding of the values, goals and the meaning of social democracy in the 21st century.  The book is available at the HMF offices in Yerevan and a full electronic version will also be available on its website www.maroukhianfoundation.org.

With the clear understanding that the youth have a key role to play in the empowerment of the country, the HMF organized a comprehensive three-day training seminar for twenty young political leaders in Dilijan, Armenia in May 2011. The training encompassed three main components for leadership building skills: Strategic Planning, Future Search and World Café.  The strategic planning session taught participants how to define the goals and objectives of the youth organizations they were active in, as well as finding the most productive methods in implementing those goals.  Later, the young leaders took part in Future Search, which outlined methods to develop alternative futures by finding diverse ways for solving problems. The final component titled World Café aimed to foster problem solving dialogue in unconventional settings such as coffee shops. After three intensive days of training, participants left the seminar equipped with innovative techniques and a clearer vision of how to effectively work within their youth organizations.

Recently, HMF received a grant from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to produce a six part mini-series about the problems, challenges and achievements of Armenian women entitled “Women in Armenia.” Through these six half hour segments, to be aired on Yerkir Media in the fall, HMF plans to highlight the difficulties encountered by women in private and public life while at the same time showcasing the positive impact women have in the democratic development of their society. The segment topics to be covered include, women in politics, women in business, women in armed conflict, domestic violence against women, sexual harassment against women and women and health care.

In October 2011, the Foundation will be conducting a special training on social democracy. This project will focus on the basics of social democracy; European SD in the last two decades; debates about the future of SD and its relevance for Armenia. One of the authors of the book, “Foundations of Social Democracy,” Christian Krell will lead the training with a co-trainer for political leaders in Yerevan. During the training, the current political and economic situation in Armenia will be discussed.

By conducting policy research, organizing training seminars and the dissemination of information, along with other innovative projects in the future, the Hrayr Maroukhian Foundation will lay the foundations for long-term, systematic solutions to social, political and economic problems and will contribute to the development of more transparent, accountable, equitable and prosperous societies.

Visit the Hrayr Maroukhian Foundation Web site for more information about its activities http://www.maroukhianfoundation.org or find the foundation on Facebook at Hrayr Maroukhian Foundation.