Armenia

PH International in Armenia

PH International has worked in Armenia for 24 years and has had a permanent office in Yerevan since 2000. PH Armenia has successfully designed and implemented innovative, practical, and sustainable projects in education and culture, social inclusion, community development, information and communication technologies, and justice, with a particular focus on youth. PH Armenia has administered 20 programs with over $26M in funding.

A key education and youth development program that PH Armenia is currently implementing is the 5-year USAID-funded Armenia Civics for Engagement (ACE) Program. ACE aims to enhance the quality and scope of Armenia’s school-based and extracurricular civic education to foster youth participation in public affairs and help advance democratic principles and practices.

Check out PH Armenia’s Facebook Page, as well the pages for the ACE Project and the American Library and Training Center in Ijevan.

Current Programs

PAST PROJECTS

Funder: U.S. Department of State, American Embassy, Yerevan, Armenia

The goal of the “Tavush Outreach Project” is to increase understanding of U.S. politics, culture, and values among youth and young adults living in the Tavush Region of Armenia. This is being achieved by offering English language and other instruction to approximately 5,465 young Tavush citizens and providing diverse capacity building programs throughout the region. As a result of these activities, program participants are gaining competence in English language as they learn about the U.S. and the practices of democracy and active citizenship while also acquiring hard and soft skills that will assist them in their daily lives.

PH International identified youth education and empowerment as an important precondition for Armenia’s development to a sustainable democracy, therefore, throughout its 20 years of operations in the country it has designed and delivered effective, high-quality educational programming for youth development.

The goal of the Armenia LEAD Project was to equip Armenian regional youth with essential soft and hard skills helping them to mature into successful professionals and engaged citizens of Armenia and of the world. Additionally, the project worked with their schools and educators to create an enabling environment for youth development and civic activism. The US Embassy in Yerevan funds this program.

The project aimed to accomplish the following objectives: (a) organize 250 hours of English instruction (targeting intermediate level) and 70 hours of personal enhancement/development activities for 180 youth aged 13-16, from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, living in 9 regional communities of Armenia (b) provide 50 youth aged 13-16 from socially disadvantaged backgrounds living in 9 regional communities of Armenia with opportunities to learn methods of community needs assessment and project design for implementing community action activities. (c) Train 18 in-service English teachers from selected regions in observation skills for better identification of their own strengths, areas for improvement and for more informed decision-making about their students.

Towards the end of the 2-year cycle of the Access program, using the skills that they have learned, the 180 alumni of the program form teams with peers from their communities to design and apply for 9 Access Small Grants aimed at identifying and solving community issues by engaging other youth, their teachers, parents, and key community members.

Over the course of four years, PH implemented a set of interconnected activities empowering Armenian students and Armenian teachers of English to foster excellence in learning and teaching of English as well motivate them to become professionally and personally stronger individuals and citizens. This program was funded by the US Embassy in Yerevan.

With a focus on providing English language instruction to disadvantaged young Armenians, 5 English Access Microscholarship program sites were launched during through which a total of 200 students studied intensely over the course of 20 months. This course included 360 hours of after-school English instruction accompanied with personal enhancement/development activities.

Secondly, with a focus on building the capacity and skills of Armenian teachers of English language, a cadre of 10 teachers of English participated in a blended online and offline intensive professional development trainings to equip them with proper knowledge, skills and attitudes and empowered with opportunities to create essential resources, provide quality trainings, and support a wider network of their counterpart English teachers countrywide.

An additional team of 40 teachers were engaged in the project, who along with the 10 mentor teachers above, participated in a variety of trainings introducing them to new theories and practices on teaching English as a Foreign Language.

Description Funded by INL, DOS, the purpose of this program is through enriching INL-provided legal modules create for the RA Justice Academy 2 Armenian-language distance learning courses (“Corruption & Financial Crimes” and “Protection of the Rights of Minors, Victims of Sexual Violence, and Other Vulnerable Individuals”) for the professional development training of acting Armenian judges, investigators and prosecutors.

By introducing these new distance learning legal courses reflecting best international legal-judicial practices, contribute to reforms in key Armenian criminal justice sector educational institutions, help develop a climate where the rule of law is consistently and fairly applied and strengthen the ability of the Government of Armenia to investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate transnational organized and related crimes and respect human rights during criminal proceedings.

Funded by INL, DOS, The Program supported the Armenian State Probation Service (SPS) to develop quality technical, managerial, human-rights, and ethics training materials and programming for new hires and continuing education to foster staff professional development.

The following deliverables were produced throughout the Program:

Component 1: Training Development for SPS

This included the following activities:

(1.1) Development of 4 manuals for Probation Service with input from international trainers and national consultants,
(1.2) Based on the created draft manuals, organization of a Training of Trainers by a group of 3 international trainers and 2 national consultants.

Component 2: Sustainability of Training

This included the following activities:

(2.1) Facilitation of training for over 70 Probation staff led by the core group of trained trainers and PH staff to introduce them to the developed draft manuals and to deliver instructions for the testing of the risk assessment tools developed through Component 3;
(2.2) Organization of a 2-day regional workshop for a small group of probation staff (10 staff members led by the Head of the Probation Service) for a critical review and finalization of the developed templates in order to submit them to the MoJ for approval;
(2.3) Enrichment of manuals with new content based on feedback received from PS and with incorporation of risk assessment tools developed and validated through Component 3; Translation into English, obtaining approval from MOJ and INL, and publication;
(2.4) Organization of a 2-day final training on the newly developed manuals led by the Head of the Probation Service for the 11 Heads of the Probation Departments, the staff of the Methodological Unit, the expert psychologists, and select Probation Officers (a group of 30 people).

Component 3: Incorporation of Beneficiary Risk Assessment Tools into Probation Work

This included the following activities:

(3.1) Collection and analyses of data of 500 inmates from Armenian penitentiaries to develop a national risk pre-screening tool for SPS based on international samples;
3.2) Optimization of the currently existing in-depth needs and risk assessment tool;
(3.3) Setting-up internet connection in regional sites of PS;
(3.4) Testing and validation of both tools, and arranging with MoJ for legal approval of the final templates.

Component 4: Organization of the project’s independent evaluation.

Component 5: Organization of the project’s closing event.

Funded by INL, DOS, the purpose of AM CALLS was to support legal socialization reform in Armenia by developing creative and proactive community-based models that supported Armenian communities in preventing juvenile delinquency through social justice activities for Armenian youth in coordination with the Armenian police, schools, and communities and contributed to a fundamental shift within the police, institutions administering justice, and community toward the use of alternative justice approaches for juveniles.

The program focused on developing a community’s sense of responsibility for its youth, leveraging resources to sustain local planning, preparing and engaging police officers as key assets in that process, and supporting the Ministry of Justice in its efforts to develop alternatives to imprisonment – especially important in reducing recidivism among youth.

Armenia CALLS provided grants to local NGOs and emphasized local initiatives, underscoring the responsibility and assets of local communities to better meet the needs of their youth through supported partnerships, collaboration and social initiatives.

CALLS initiated a U.S. based exchange for a group of multi-disciplinary specialists (including the Head of the RA Juvenile Police, the Head of the Public Education of the RA Education Ministry, high-profile specialists of RA Investigative Committee and others) to explore the best models and practices of managing juvenile delinquency. Afterwards, they developed the first version of the Armenian “Youth Assessment and Screening Tool” which was tested by the “Center for Restorative Justice Programs and Legal Education” operating under the Ministry of Justice.

The program developed curricula and trained a group of Armenian investigators managing minors’ cases, as well as trained school-based psychologists to prepare them for participation in investigations of minors’ cases, as support to the investigators. It also trained the staff of the Social-Cultural-Legal Unit of the the country’s only prison for women and juveniles in their work with their befeneficiaries.

Through different trainings, workshops and community action the program prepared law enforcement, court actors, local organizations and the general public for effective cooperation between the Armenian Police, youth, families, schools and community stakeholders on initiatives that helped young people develop cognitive, social and emotional competence for preventing violence.

Funded by the US Embassy in Yerevan, The “Wonder-ful Life “ project entailed a series of activities dedicated to the concepts of equal rights and opportunities and social inclusion based around the reading of Wonder, R. J. Palacio’s prize winning novel “Wonder” about a young boy with a severe facial disfigurement and the challenges he faces when he enters public middle school.

PH International worked jointly with the RA Ministry of Education of Armenia and the National Institute of Education to develop 2 curricula (for working with different age groups of students) and train 50 High School teachers from around the country who then facilitated group readings and discussions of the book with their 1000 students during the Social Inclusion Month in February, 2015. In addition, copies of the novel were distributed to libraries, schools, and NGOs in Armenia.

On post cards featuring the Wonder-ful book cover, on one side the Armenian students shared their insights about how they could make their community more inclusive and advice to the to the U.S. Ambassador, the Minister of Education, and the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs. The 60 best advisers participated in a National Youth Summit on Social Inclusion which hosted famous local as well as international guests including Victor Santiago Pineda, a social development scholar and a major disability rights advocate, an international speaker and consultant on accessibility related issues.

The project’s concluding highlight was a major Art Contest followed by a public exhibition which hosted the participant students’ art products celebrating the courageous inner world of the book’s hero.

From 2011-13, UNICEF, within its 3-year EU-funded juvenile justice program called “Reaching Critical Mass: Consolidation of Juvenile Justice Systems Reforms against Torture and other Forms of Ill-Treatment of Children in Former Soviet Countries”, partnered with PH International to provide interim funding support for Community Justice Centers (CJCs) in Armenia. Eleven CJCs, created and maintained by local Armenian groups with support from PH International, were created as part of the ZANG legal socialization program:

Yerevan (capital area)
Vanadzor (Lori region)
Alaverdi (Lori region)
Gyumri (Shirak region)
Ijevan (Tavush region)
Chambarak (Gegharkunik region)
Talin (Aragatsotn region)
Kapan (Syunik region)
Echmiadzin (Armavir region)
Metsamor (Armavir region)
Artashat (Ararat region)

These centers pursued programming deeply rooted in restorative justice theory. While most approaches to juvenile justice focus on punishing or treating delinquent youth, this theory emphasizes restorative justice and seeks to involve the entire community in rehabilitating offenders and holding them accountable for their behavior.

By bringing together victims, offenders, families, and other key stakeholders in a variety of settings, restorative justice helps offenders understand the implications of their actions and provides an opportunity for them to establish a positive reconnection to the community. The CJC specialists (usually a psychologist, a person with formal education training background, and a social worker), law enforcement officers and community members operating the CJCs constitute a Restorative Board which develops rehabilitation plans for delinquency cases referred to the centers by the community and law enforcement officers on local level partnering with the ZANG Legal Socialization Program.

The CJCs have proven to be a successful and constructive strategy for combating and correcting juvenile delinquency already identified and reported on a community or police level. They have been at the center of many local and international reports and have always received positive acclaim.

Funded by the US Embassy in Türkiye The YouthLAB project forged cross-cultural connections and fostered innovative leadership among Turkish, Armenian and American youth, nurturing a cadre of youth to become actively engaged in addressing issues of mutual concern in their schools and communities, and equipping them with the knowledge, skills and confidence to become social activists. The program was funded by a grant from the Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, and was implemented by PH International and its Turkish partner, ARI Movement.

The 16-month initiative brought together 75 young leaders (25 from each country) with creative ideas and open minds. Prior to a three-week leadership camp in the U.S., students from the three countries communicated online via a secure website and began talking with one another about leadership and change in their communities. In July 2011 all 75 students came together in Vermont for a two-week leadership camp at Sugarbush Resort, followed by a one-week homestay experience with American hosts. As part of the camp the students formed international teams to discuss, design and plan civic activities to work on in their communities after they returned home. They then spent the next four months working on these projects in their schools and communities, continuing to communicate with their peers and program coordinators as they put learning into action. In late December 2011, the students reunited in Turkey and Armenia visiting projects, communities, and expanding their cultural and leadership training.

This program produced Armenian alumni many of whom were core participants of the Velvet Revolution and currently serve in the government or affiliated agencies.

The successive grants of ZANG Armenian Legal Socialization Program, funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), introduced legal education to Armenian schools and established collaboration between educators and law enforcement professionals who work with youth. In and out of school, the program encouraged cooperative partnerships between law enforcement, educators and community organizations for positive change in areas of public safety, crime prevention, and civic society development.

Among its outstanding achievements, ZANG introduced legal education curriculum in schools, introduced new concepts for prevention and restorative justice approaches such as introduction of School Resource Officers, community policing, raised awareness of the broader community about juvenile justice issues, and together with the Armenian Police, created 11 Community Justice Centers in Armenia, successfully serving over 700 Armenian youth in conflict with law. By bringing together victims, offenders, families, and other key stakeholders in a variety of settings, restorative justice strategies emplyed by the CJCs helped the offending teenagers understand the implications of their actions and provides an opportunity for them to establish a positive reconnection to the community.

From 2011-13, UNICEF, within its 3-year EU-funded juvenile justice program called “Reaching Critical Mass: Consolidation of Juvenile Justice Systems Reforms against Torture and other Forms of Ill-Treatment of Children in Former Soviet Countries”, partnered with PH International to provide funding support and internaiotnal guidance for the operations of the Community Justice Centers (CJCs) in Armenia.

Jointly by PH trained law enforcement officers and schools teachers, two manuals “Me and My Surroundings” and “The Legal Mosaic” were delivered in over 200 schools.

Funded by INL, DOS, the LEAP program, supported community-oriented social justice models geared toward improving and establishing positive interactions between the community and law enforcement officials. Emphasis was placed on ensuring that the child’s best interests are of paramount importance, bringing about a fundamental shift within law enforcement, regional Departments for Protection of Families, Women and Children under the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, schools, and community toward restorative justice elements, and providing capacity support to structures within the Government of Armenia to respond to the specialized needs of juveniles with delinquent behavior and self-sustain legal socialization programs and efforts.

LEAP used an integrated approach that educates juveniles on the law and the justice sector resources available to them and builds positive relationships between juveniles and law enforcement authorities; assesses problems in the case management system for juveniles and provides recommendations for addressing these problems; provides training to school multi-disciplinary teams on how to best support juveniles in difficult life situations; provides training to Abovyan prison staff on re-entry strategies for youth offenders; and increases the sustainability of legal socialization programs and efforts in Armenia by incorporating these programs into existing structures and ministries.

Funded by the US Embassy in Yerevan, the 2-year English Access Microscholarship Program offered free-of-charge after-school instruction of English to adolescents from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition to working on their language skills, the participants also participated in enhancement activities during which they explore concepts and practices on leadership, the importance of rule of law and civic activism, power of mobilizing community resources, meaningful uses of social media tools, project design and management – all these aim to boost their personal growth and development, and empower them to take advantage of the opportunities that had previously been unavailable to them.

Through this program PH has reached out to and significantly impacted the lives of 270 students aged 13-15 in 6 communities of 5 regions of Armenia.

Funded by ECA, DOS, the Internet Community Development Program for the Caucasus was designed as a one-year program to promote the use of the Internet as a democracy-building and community organizing tool for professionals in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The program fostered the development of two distinct online communities – one focusing on business support, the other on refugee issues and assistance to IDPs (internally displaced persons). The training, education and outreach activities increased the local capacity of professionals in these fields to develop online resources, to administer information services such as online newsletters and discussion lists and to organize and facilitate interactive online events such as web chats and teleconferences. These tools facilitated increased information sharing and professional networking throughout the Caucasus on these topics, and in doing so, broadened individual perspectives on both a personal and professional level.

Citizens were empowered through the use of Internet technology to engage in public debate and discussion on topics of local and regional importance. Most importantly, the ability to access, share and publish information online increased civic participation and strengthened the democratic institutions at the points where geographic and online communities coalesce.

Funded by USAID, EGA/ED, the Community Connections (CC) program provided an important opportunity for Americans and people from across Eurasia to work together to address common professional challenges while expanding their social and cultural understanding.

This was a public diplomacy, economic growth and civil society development program which provided internships combining seminars, workshops, site visits, meeting American professionals in the U.S. The Community Connections Hosting programs welcomed 10-member delegations from across Eurasia to the United States for three-to-five week professional training programs. During the U.S. based exchange the participants lived in American host families.

Around 250 Armenian government and NGO experts (investigative journalists, business entrepreneurs, public health officials, special education specialists, advocates) and many other professionals from across all the country were enrolled in the program.

Funded by ECA, DOS, DOTCOM brought together American, Armenian and Azerbaijani youth for media literacy in action project. It used online coursework focusing on media literacy and the use of Web 2.0 tools along with two face-to-face exchanges to bring 90 American, Armenian and Azerbaijani youth together over twenty months as each participant found their own voice, created their own media products around different social causes.

Among the 90 students in the program, 30 were selected for a more intensive exchange experience in which they continued their learning and work face-to-face. Ten students from Armenia and ten from Azerbaijan participated in a summer program in Vermont in 2009, followed by ten Vermont students traveling reciprocally to Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2010 to work with their DOTCOM peers to bring media action to the next level.

Funded by Center for Educational Projects (CEP), The Armenia office executed a consultancy contract within the framework of the Republic of Armenia’s World Bank-funded Education Quality and Relevance Program, implemented by the RA Ministry of Education and Science and the Center for Educational Projects (CEP).

Basic computer and Internet literacy trainings were provided to over 700 secondary school teachers from over 87 rural and urban schools in the 5 sub-regions of Gegharkunik region: Gavar, Sevan, Martuni, Vardenis, Chambarak. The project aimed to enhance the introduction and promotion of Information Communication Technologies in Armenian schools and provide the trained teachers with diverse opportunities in applying modern teching methodolgies throughout their teaching processes.

Funded by ECA, DOS, the mission of the Armenia School Connectivity Program (ASCP) was to establish an Armenian online school network (the only one in Armenie) consisting of 330 schools by establishing Internet Computer Centers at public schools across all 11 regions of Armenia, and through a newly created Internet Mobile Lab service an additional 50 schools operating in the most remote 50 villages of 2 regions.

Overall, the program provided access and promoted meaningful use of ICT to strengthen civic education and school-community collaboration through innovative use of ICT. It developed and supported sustainable online partnerships between US and Armenian schools and communities, as well as developed local capacity to support and maintain the resources and operations of the Internet Computer Centers (ICCs). Project Harmony Armenia recruited over 650 staff in 330 school sites and trained them technically, programmatically, and administratively.

The program conducted diverse trainings and provided Internet access to about 22,000 educators, 81,000 students and over 50,000 community users. It facilitated 6 reciprocal US-Armenia exchanges of school administrators, teachers, and students. Throughout intensive 3-year negotiations, Project Harmony achieved an unprecedented strategy for this program’s long-term sustainabity. During the final 2 years the Armenian Ministry of Education and Science provided about 1mln. USD as co-sponsoring for the program and it finally adopted the program implementation in all its aspects: fiscal, programmatic and technical.

To this date the infrastructure and capacities developed within the program successfully serves Armenia – this was a major national program introducing key reforms in the educational system of the country.