07 Feb
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Annual meeting of the stakeholder dialogue platform of VET donor organizations

On February 7, within the framework of the project “Modernizing Vocational Education and Training in Agriculture in Armenia” (MAVETA), the “Strategic Development Agency” (SDA) NGO organized the regular annual meeting of the stakeholder dialogue platform of VET donor organizations.

The stakeholder dialogue platform was created in 2017, within the framework of the “VET Development in Syunik Marz” project, in close cooperation with the RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports.

The platform unites donor organizations operating in the field of VET and those interested structures that contribute to the development of the VET system in Armenia, with the aim of effectively coordinating initiatives in the field, sharing the experience and achievements of implemented programs, as well as discussing planned actions.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Swiss Development and Cooperation in Armenia, UNDP and other local and international institutions.

Mrs. Araksia Svajyan, the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Mr. Werner Thut, the Deputy Regional Director of the Swiss Cooperation for the South Caucasus, and Mr. Beka Urushadze, the Regional Director of HEKS/EPER South Caucasus addressed the conference with the welcoming speeches.

Mrs. Araksia Svajyan, the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, in her welcoming speech thanked the international and local partners, stressing that the development of agricultural specialties is strategically important for the economy of Armenia.

“We should try to make the VET system better by cooperating with the private sector, in this regard the legislative reforms and training for teachers are of high importance”-the Deputy Minister highlighted.

The speech of the Deputy Minister was followed by the speech of Werner Thut, the Deputy Regional Director of the Swiss Cooperation for the South Caucasus, who presented the Swiss experience and highlighted the importance of close collaboration between private and public sectors in VET.

During the meeting, the project “Modernizing Vocational Education and Training in Agriculture in Armenia” (MAVETA), the “Armenia Workforce Development Activity” AWDA project, as well as the projects in the Preliminary and VET fields were presented and the possibilities of cooperation between different projects were discussed.

During the group discussions, it was possible to discuss the issues such as: the involvement of the private sector in VET, the need for teacher training and the steps for teacher’s motivation increase.

The MAVETA project is funded by a broad coalition of international and local organizations led by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), including the Austrian Development Agency, the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Government of Armenia, the Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER) NGO, Izmirlian Foundation, the Strategic Development Agency (SDA) NGO and Vanand Agro CJSC.

The project’s implementing partners are the GIZ and HEKS/EPER with the involvement of SDA and the School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (HAFL).

03 Feb
Uncategorized

Discussions in Syunik Region for curriculum development with dual-approach

In the framework of “Modernizing VET in Agriculture in Armenia” MAVETA project regional workshop-discussion was organized in Khot settlement of Syunik Region from 31st of January to  3rd of February, 2023 for the revision of the educational curricula of Junior Veterinarians, Milk and Dairy technologists and Farm manager professions.

Employers from the aforementioned sectors of the enlarged communities of Goris and Sisian, teachers from VET colleges, and representatives from other partner organizations attended the workshop.

The workshop was facilitated by Johannes Brunner who is a lecturer and adviser at the School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences of the Bern University of Applied Science.

02 Feb
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The 10th workshop of the Program coordination platform for sustainable management of RA’s natural fodder areas: pastures and grasslands

On February 2, the 10th workshop of the Program coordination platform for sustainable management of RA’s natural fodder areas: pastures and grasslands was organized, which was attended by the representatives of the RA Ministry of Economy, RA Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, RA Ministry of Environment, the regional administrations of Shirak, Syunik, Vayots Dzor, Lori, representatives of scientific institutions, local and international non-governmental organizations.

The workshop started with the welcoming speech of the RA Deputy Minister of Economy, Arman Khojoyan, who in his speech referred to the importance of sustainable pastures management and the role of the Ministry of Economy in the framework of the Program Coordination Platform for Sustainable Management of RA’s Natural Fodder Areas: pastures and grasslands.

“The possibility of using new pasture management models and mechanisms is currently being discussed together with the international partners,”-Arman Khojoyan said.

During the workshop, the representatives of the RA Ministry of Economy, the RA Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, and the RA Ministry of Environment made a report on the topic “Works carried out in the direction of improving pastures”.

During the workshop, the results of the projects implemented in the direction of improving pastures were summarized and the new projects were presented.

 

 

 

 

31 Jan
Uncategorized

Presentation of the project “Resilience and Economic Recovery of Border Communities in Armenia” at the Gegharkunik Regional Administration

On the 30th of January, Lilit Chitchyan, the head of the social protection program department of the UN World Food Program, Mary Sargsyan, the project manager at “World Vision Armenia” organization, and Vahe Hovhannisyan, the project manager at “Strategic Development Agency” NGO, presented the “Resilience and Economic Recovery of Border Communities in Armenia” Project’s purpose and principles at the RA Gegharkunik Regional Administration.

The above-mentioned project is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by the UN World Food Programme (UN WFP) in partnership with the World Vision Armenia (WVA), Child Development Foundation (CDF) and Strategic Development Agency (SDA). “Resilience and Economic Recovery of Border Communities in Armenia” Project aims to improve crisis resilience in the border settlements of Vardenis (Gegharkunik), Sisian (Syunik), and Jermuk (Vayots Dzor) communities by providing humanitarian and economic support.

In the Gegharkunik region, the Project covers 9 settlements of Vardenis community, which were affected by the military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan in September 2022.

The project has two main components. The first component envisages the provision of social assistance to the conflict-affected families, and the second component covers the implementation of rehabilitation activities.

The first component of the project is to provide food assistance cards to vulnerable families in border settlements affected by the aggression. The kind of food assistance will be provided to 300 families. Currently, the registration phase of food-insecure households is being conducted.

Vahe Hovhannisyan, the project manager at the “Strategic Development Agency” NGO, presented the income-generating interventions to be implemented in the settlements of the Vardenis community, around 60 livestock farms will benefit from the project interventions.

Karen Sargsyan, the Governor of Gegharkunik Province welcomed the initiative and expressed readiness to provide the necessary support.

 

27 Jan
Uncategorized

Regional discussions for curriculum development with dual-approach

In the framework of “Modernizing VET in Agriculture in Armenia” MAVETA project regional workshop-discussion was organized in Stepanavan, Lori Marz from 24 to 27 January, 2023 for the revision of the educational curricula of Junior Veterinarians, Milk and Dairy technologists and Farm manager professions.

The participants of the workshop were the lecturers of Stepanavan State Agricultural College, private sector representatives and other stakeholders active in the above mentioned fields.

The workshop was facilitated by Johannes Brunner who is a lecturer and adviser at the School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences of the Bern University of Applied Science.

 

 

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