WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES Armenia Round Table ANNUAL REPORT 2006 EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMME 2006 WCC Armenia Round Table World Council of Churches Monastery of Etchmiadzin WCC Diakonia & Solidarity Team - Europe Desk Tel: +374 (10) 517 157 150, Route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100, CH -1211 Geneva 2 Fax: +374 (10) 517 436 Tel: +41 22 791 6210 and 791 6209 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +41 22 788 0067 Web page: www.armwcc.org E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] ANNUAL REPORT Web page: www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/europe WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES ARMENIA ROUND TABLE CONTENTS Introductory remarks ...................................................................5 EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME ...................................................10 Christian Education and Social Diakonia ...............................12 Training Courses ....................................................................18 Teachers’ Training Programme and Social Service Centres ............................................................23 Participation in National Educational Policy Discussions and Policy Advocacy for Involvement of Churches in Education and Social Services .................................................27 AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME .......................30 Promotion of Demonstration/ Monastery Farms ...................................................................32 Promotion of Sustainable Agricultural Development ..............36 Support of Locally Rooted Solutions with a Poverty Reduction Emphasis ...............................................39 CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMME ..........................................46 Capacity Building for the ART staff ........................................48 Capacity building for the ART partners .................................51 Identification of new partners and creation of a cooperation network between them ................................53 MEETINGS .................................................................................56 Financial Data ............................................................................59 Audit Report on Financial Statements ........................................61 Geography of ART Programme ..................................................62 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AAC Armenian Apostolic Holy Church ACC Armenian Catholic Church AEC Armenian Evangelical Church ACT Action by Churches Together ART Armenia Round Table* CAU Cross of Armenian Unity CHC Churches Help Churches CRS Catholic Relief Services CSA Church of Sweden Aid EED Church Development Service – An Association of the Protestant Churches in Germany HEKS/EPER Swiss Interchurch Aid F.A.P. Fondation Pour L’aide Au Protestantisme Reforme HEI Higher Educational Institutes ICCO Interchurch Organization for Development Cooperation NGO Non Governmental Organization NIE National Institute for Education PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper SPF Small Project Fund WCC World Council of Churches *World Council of Churches Armenia Inter-Church Charitable Round Table Foundation is shortened to Armenia Round Table Introductory remarks The year 2006 and the first half of 2007 was the time of following up on the outcomes of the ART external evaluation. After inten- sive discussions and reflections with local and international partners, the ART Board and staff developed new strategic documents of ART, formulated its Vision and Mission, identified further priorities, both thematic and geographical. During the reporting period we were actively involved in several initiatives on local and international levels, such as Millennium Challenge Corporation, Armenia, PRSP, the network of UN and non-UN network of emergency preparedness in Armenia, local and Eastern Europe platform of APRODEV, Governing bodies of ACT International and ACT Development, commissions of WCC. We have learnt much about modern aspects of development and programme work. With special appreciation I want to mention our participation in big ecumenical and inter-religious meetings: Ninth Assembly of the World Council of Churches and Eighth World Assembly of Religions for Peace. Thanks to the active role of ART in those and other meetings, networks and alliances we are now better known in Armenia and outside. Above and beyond, the most important result of that kind of coopera- tion is better coordination and exchange with other programmes and networks, which definitely enriches us and makes our work more effective. In 2006 we launched initial steps of our two priority programmes: Integrated Community Development and Regional Peace and Reconciliation. It was a time of intensive consultations with potential beneficiaries and key players in the field, when we carefully listened to them in order to find our own niche and most effective ways of work in the two mentioned directions. I hope during the current and the coming year we will further clarify/process our understanding of sustainable and transformational development and work towards realization of this concept. The overall political, social and economical situation in the country is among important factors affecting our work. 2006 was an- other peaceful year for the people of Armenia and Karabakh. However, peace without peaceful solution of the Karabakh problem cannot be stable, especially having taken into consideration aggressive declarations of many Azeri political leaders. It cannot be stable when there is unrest in the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. One thing is very obvious to me: comprehensive social and economical development in the country is not possible without solution of the Karabakh problem. On the other hand, stable peace is not possible without restoration of human contacts. It means that we shall work in the direction of re-creating contacts which have completely stopped from the beginning of military conflict and collapse of the Soviet Union between people of two countries. We shall provide opportunities to ordinary people for discussion of uneasy issues like reconciliation between two nations in order to change the demonizing images of each other, which were created during many years of isolation and hostility. Another concern of the current social economical situation in Armenia is related to the unprecedented unequal economic growth in Armenia, which instead of development and prosperity brings more polarization and tension to our society. Indeed, it is alarming to see differences in living standards between Yerevan and the provinces, between government officers and teachers, between the income of pensioners, handicapped people and on the one side their living costs/consumption basket. Only a small part of the population benefits from continuing economical growth, while many are getting poorer instead. It is a big challenge for the Church, church-related institutions and civil society organizations to articulate the problem and advocate on behalf of those marginalized. The ART among others should prioritize the needs of these people. We have to find a way to incorporate the marginalized people into the development process. Promotion of regional peace and making transformational development as a part of every day life in rural regions of Armenia are the most important challenges and priorities for us. Through its Regional Peace and Reconciliation and Integrated Community Development programmes the ART will strive to meet the needs and expectations of people, to work towards making the peace lasting and development sustainable. Karen Nazaryan Executive Director of the WCC Armenia Round Table FOUNDERS OF THE WCC ARMENIA ROUND TABLE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Armenian Apostolic Holy Church Chairman: His Eminence Archbishop Pargev Martirossian World Council of Churches Rev. Fr. Hovakim Manoukyan, AAC Fr. Vahram Melikyan, AAC Rev. Rene Leonian, AEC Sister Arousiag Sajonian, ACC Ms Sona Hamalyan, CRS Mr. Hayk Minassian, Shen NGO, Armenia Dr. Karen Nazaryan (ex officio) EXECUTIVE OFFICE PARTNERS Karen Nazaryan – Executive Director The Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, Armenia Margarita Tadevosyan – Programme Officer (Capacity Building) The Armenian Catholic Church, Armenia Tsovinar Ghazaryan – Programme Officer (Education) The Armenian Evangelical Church, Armenia Karineh Baghdasaryan – Programme Officer (Agricultural Bischöfliches Generalvikariat, Germany Development) Catholic Relief Services, Armenia Artashes Gevorgyan – Programme Officer (HIV/AIDS) Church of Sweden Aid, Sweden Elmira Madoyan – Chief Accountant Church World Service, USA Tsovinar Manvelyan - Accountant-Treasurer Church Development Service-An Association of the Protestant Davit Atabekyan- Legal Adviser Churches in Germany Susanna Alexanyan - Administrative Secretary Church-related and Benevolent organizations of Armenian Satenik Haroutyunyan –Programme Officer Assistant Diaspora (Education) Cordaid, The Netherlands Nrani Mekhakyan - Programme Officer Assistant (Agricultural DanChurchAid, Denmark Development) Danish Armenian Mission, Denmark Gayane Khachikyan - Programme Officer Assistant (HIV/ AIDS) Diakonisches Werk der EKD, Germany Alexan Ter-Avetisyan - Driver Global Ministries of the Uniting Protestant Churches in The Netherlands Interchurch Organization for Development Co-operation, The Netherlands Local organizations and NGOs in Armenia AUDITOR Norwegian Church Aid, Norway “Ameria” Ltd Swiss Interchurch Aid, Switzerland The World Council of Churches, Switzerland ART is a member of: Action by Churches Together International Steering Committee of