Generation for Peace - - Peacebuilding through Oral History Edita Danielyan (UWCDilijan’16), Earlham College | May- July 2020, Armenia

Introduction and Background: “Generation for Peace” aims to promote peacebuilding by using oral history as a tool to engage the youth of Armenia in a conversation about Armenian and Azerbaijani coexistence. There are currently no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Young Armenians like me, have been taught to despise Azerbaijanis from an early age. We learn to see Azerbaijan through an animosity that is rooted in the ongoing Nagorno- conflict and has cemented itself into our political discourse through decades of propaganda and bellicose posturing on both sides. Since the conflict started in 1988, the two nations have been torn apart along religious, ethnic, and sectarian lines by competing political forces. Over 90% of Azerbaijanis consider Armenians their biggest enemy, making them the most vulnerable group in Azerbaijan.1 While most Armenians do not support war, those who are in favor of it are disproportionately young(18-24 years of age), and fewer than 8% of Armenians are willing to make any concessions.2 Such attitudes, held by the future change-makers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, greatly diminish prospects for reconciliation and peacemaking. While the official narratives maintain that the Nagorno-Karabakh is the cornerstone of the relationship between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the histories of our peoples, however, are more intertwined than either state would let on. The two peoples have lived in peace and harmony for decades, within the living memory of my grandparent's generation. A conversation with my grandparents reveals a completely different attitude towards their Azerbaijani friends: stories of everyday coexistence, of friendship, of celebrating each other's festivals, and of everyday mundane life. It is often the case that the personal stories of those who remember pre-conflict times do not always conform to the threatening social norms reproduced by either state. These stories and remembrances of our elders hold a tremendous potential for healing and promoting peaceful conflict resolution by emphasizing the common history and relationships that are much deeper than the current conflict. We believe that oral history can be used as a tool by drawing upon stories of the past, and engaging the youth of Armenia in a critical dialogue that informs our present and helps us envision a more peaceful future, without directly dealing with the contested histories of the conflict and attempting to push a single narrative. Project Objectives “Generation for Peace” aims to take on a multiple narrative approach that opens up many perspectives on day-to-day life in pre-conflict Armenia, introducing the youth to the complex social histories of the region and empowering the youth to actively engage in discourses of peace at various levels, starting from their immediate communities. With this aim in mind, “Generation for Peace” will: 1)record Oral Histories of coexistence and make them publicly available for research or other purposes, 2)train the students to accurately record oral histories in a respectful and professional manner, 3)empower the students to communicate their findings with their communities through community outreach programs organized through their schools and EPF-Armenia. Project Description I will implement the “Generation for Peace” project in partnership with EPF-Armenia3 from May 23, 2020, to July 28, 2020, in , province, Armenia. Growing up in Ijevan, within 10 miles of the border, I have a deep relationship with the conflict, which, along with my academic and field experiences with oral history, has inspired the design of this project."Generation for Peace" will have three phases: workshops, fieldwork, and media production/community outreach. The project will bring together around 30 participants (aged 16- 25) for the workshops, from the two Ijevan high schools and the Ijevan branch of the State University,4 of whom 12 will be selected to participate in two field trips (6 per trip).

1 South , https://web.archive.org/web/20131029210003/http://www.css.ethz.ch/publications/pdfs/CAD-51-52.pd 2 EurasiaNet, https://eurasianet.org/survey-armenians-attitudes-toward-azerbaijan-increasingly-hardening 3 Eurasia Partnership Foundation is an established non-governmental organization in the South Caucasus which has branches in Armenia, , and Azerbaijan. EPF-Armenia works with the youth in Armenia to foster civic engagement as well as capacity building since 2007. Their work extends in many directions, including governance, media, human rights, and peacebuilding. I have worked with EPF-Armenia as a Summer Intern, and I will be partnering with them throughout this project https://epfarmenia.am/ 4 I have contacted the principles of the high schools and the administration of the Ijevan branch of the . All of them have confirmed to help with the recruitment of participants.

Generation for Peace - Armenia-Azerbaijan Peacebuilding through Oral History Edita Danielyan (UWCDilijan’16), Earlham College | May- July 2020, Armenia

Workshop 1 (Education on Oral History) - This will focus specifically on the basics of oral history as well as its importance in peacebuilding initiatives and will be co-organized by Lusine Kharatyan, a prominent Armenian oral historian currently working with the Hazarashen NGO in Yerevan. The talk will be followed by a dialogue session for exploring the participants’ views on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and their perceptions of Azerbaijanis and how they believe Azerbaijanis perceive them. Workshop 2 (Training) - Participants will gain interviewing skills,5 closely following Oral History Association’s Principles and Best Practices,6 in tandem with Ms. Kharatyan’s advice and expertise. The workshop will be supervised by myself, Lusine Kharatyan and Emilya Voskanyan, an interview expert from EPF-Armenia. Field Trips: Workshop participants will apply to participate in the field trips through motivation letters, and six will be selected for each of the field trips to Tavush and Gegharkunik provinces. Both of the provinces border Azerbaijan and hosted large communities of Azerbaijanis before the conflict. We will conduct 15 to 25 interviews in total.7Three students at a time will conduct the interviews, while a professional from EPF and I will closely monitor the process. We will also have a videographer accompanying us throughout the field trips taking high-quality pictures and videos of participants and interviewees for the archiving and media production stages of the project. Community Outreach: EPF-Armenia has agreed to provide the project with a page on their main website for us to publish 1) an article concluding our findings on how peace can be built through Oral History 2) videos, pictures and the stories of our elders 3) a summarizing mini-film of our journey, all of which we will actively circulate on other media platforms( such as FB, Twitter, Instagram). The participants will prepare joint presentations to be conducted in 3 schools and the Ijevan State University by the end of the project. Bonus Opportunity: We are aiming to send around 200 flyers about the project via Georgia to Azerbaijan through the EPF. While the chance of cooperation is small, we extend this olive branch with the hope that seeing young Armenians working towards peace will inspire similar initiatives in Azerbaijan. Timeline: (March 15 to May 22): Edita establishes contact with the interviewees, starts recruiting participants. (May 23-24): Edita arrives in Ijevan, Armenia, and meets with the EPF-Armenia representatives. (May 25): Edita, along with EPF workers, welcomes the participants and conducts an introduction. (May 26- 31): Workshop 1(26th), Workshop 2(27, 28), selection of field trip participants (29-31). (June 2-June 20): Field trips in Tavush, to conduct and critically engage with the interviews. (June 21-June 29): Field trip to Gegharkunik, to conduct and critically engage with the interviews. (June 30-July 15) Creating the media content for the website and the flyers. (July 15-July 25): Flyers sent to Azerbaijan, presentations by participants, final assessments. Assessment and Outcomes: To assess the project, I will periodically assign reflection papers to track the participants’ progress. While the impact on the community can be assessed through participation in our community outreach program as well as the strength of our online presence. If successful, EPF-Armenia will incorporate "Generation for Peace” in their curriculum and continue developing the project in collaboration with the local high schools. Sending “Generation for Peace” flyers to EPF-Azerbaijan will be the first step towards transforming the project into a cross-border peacebuilding initiative. We recognize that establishing dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan is a long and difficult process, but projects like “Generation for Peace” will help us create a more tolerant and understanding civil society and motivate peace processes aiming for reconciliation between Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

5 The participants will have a working knowledge of all of the aspects of interviewing, such as using the audio recording technology, learning to develop questions, engaging with the interviewee in an inviting and open manner, transcribing and archiving interviews. 6 OHA, https://www.oralhistory.org/principles-and-best-practices-revised-2018/ 7 In Tavush, I have leveraged my family connections to connect with around 15 families/elders who have had Azerbaijani neighbors and are willing to share their stories. Some of them are in Ijevan, while the others in and Sev Qar villages. We will organize 4-day trips to cover these areas. In Gegharkunik, I have contacted the local municipality, which has provided a list of 15 families, most of whom I have contacted.