13 Jan
Uncategorized

A press conference and discussion on food safety issues was jointly organized with Food Safety Inspectorate of RA

On January 12-13, with the support of the projects implemented by Strategic Development Agency NGO: “Livestock Development in Armenia: South-North 2” and “Modernizing Vocational Education and Training in Agriculture in Armenia” (MAVETA­) a press conference and discussion on food safety issues was jointly organized with the the Food Safety Inspectorate of RA.

The purpose of the meeting was to present to mass media the challenges existing in the field of food safety, animal husbandry and veterinary sector and to discuss ways to solve them.

The meeting started with the speech of Armen Hayrapetyan, Head of Food Safety Inspectorate, who provided an overview of the operations that had been carried out in 2023.

During the two-day meeting, the staff of Strategic Development Agency NGO presented and discussed the initiatives aimed at improving the agricultural and VET sectors, project interventions, necessary steps to increase the attractiveness of agricultural professions and  problems arising among milk processors during the implementation of the HACCP system.

During the press conference and discussion, the representatives of the media were informed about the existing problems in the field of food safety, reforms and subsequent actions planned to be implemented in the above-mentioned areas.

 

 

20 Dec
NEWSENG, NEWSENG, NEWSENG

The training on “Employer Branding” was provided to MAVETA project partners: representatives of the private sector and directors of VET colleges

“Strategic Development Agency” NGO within the framework of the “Modernizing Vocational Education and Training in Agriculture in Armenia” (MAVETA) project organized a regular meeting with the project partners: representatives of the private sector and directors of VET colleges.

During the meeting, a training on “Employer Branding” was provided with the purpose of presenting the importance of branding in the scope of dual education promotion and supporting the increase of reputation and attractiveness of the private sector and VET colleges.

During the meeting, the upcoming actions to be implemented jointly by the college and the private sector were discussed for the successful piloting of dual education.

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).

15 Dec
Uncategorized

Conference named “ICTs for SMEs: Bridging divide to foster digital transformation”

On December 14, a conference named “ICT for SMEs: Bridging divide to foster digital transformation” was held. It was part of the RECONOMY project “Digitizing sectors for competitiveness”, aimed at advancing the digital transformation in tourism, agriculture, and manufacturing sectors in the Eastern Partnership countries. This conference, organized by the Strategic Development Agency (SDA) NGO, brought together representatives from the agriculture, tourism, and IT sectors of Armenia, Georgia, and Moldova, as well as government officials from these countries.

RECONOMY is an inclusive and green economic development program of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), implemented by HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation in partnership with Strategic Development Agency NGO and others in the Eastern Partnership and the Western Balkan regions.

The goal of the conference was to encourage dialogue and cooperation among small and medium enterprises (SMEs), professional sector associations, and IT companies from the partner countries. This collaboration aims to support the digital transformation of SMEs.

Mkrtich Ayvazyan, Chairman of Strategic Development Agency NGO, Klas Waldenström, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden in RA, and Paulo Rodrigues, Program Manager of RECONOMY, delivered welcome speeches at the conference. Waldenström highlighted the role of digital solutions in business sustainability and environmental protection, while Rodrigues emphasized the significance of regional collaboration for inclusive economic development.

Representatives from the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia (RA), the RA Tourism Committee, the RA Ministry of High-tech Industry and other local and international organizations were present at the event.

The conference featured two panel discussions. These discussions centered on state programs and tools for boosting SME digital transformation, international experiences, challenges faced, and the crucial role of sectoral associations and business service providers in facilitating the sustainable adoption of digital solutions by SMEs.

Additionally, the interventions of the RECONOMY “Digitizing sectors for competitiveness” project were presented, and several cooperation agreements were signed among partners within the project’s framework.

12 Dec
NEWSENG

Training on “Team building and time management” for administrative and teaching staff of Stepanavan State Agricultural College

Emphasizing the need for interpersonal skills development among partners, on December 8-9, the “Strategic Development Agency” NGO within the framework of the “Modernizing Vocational Education and Training in Agriculture in Armenia” (MAVETA) project organized a training on “Team building and time management”.

The purpose of the training was to strengthen the team, working atmosphere and soft skills of administrative and teaching staff of Stepanavan State Agricultural College.

During the training, with the help of theoretical part and games, participants got acquainted with the methods of improving teamwork, communication and cooperation, the principles of time management, methods of defining tasks and priorities.

12 Dec
NEWSARM, NEWSARM, NEWSARM, NEWSARM, NEWSARM

“Modernizing Vocational Education and Training in Agriculture in Armenia” (MAVETA) project’s steering committee meeting

On December 8, the MAVETA project steering committee meeting was organized by the Swiss Cooperation Office in Armenia (SDC) with the aim of discussing the project’s implemented actions and results.

The meeting was attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of RA and representatives of the project financing and implementing organizations․

Mr. Werner Thut, the Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Switzerland in Armenia and equally responsible for Switzerland’s Development Cooperation in Armenia and Araksia Svajyan, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of RA delivered the welcoming speeches.

Mr. Werner Thut, the Deputy Regional Director of the Swiss Cooperation for the South Caucasus in his welcoming speech, emphasized the importance of the close cooperation between state structures and the private sector representatives for effective reforms in professional education, also including the agricultural sector.

Mr. Thut also referred to the need for support programs for people forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh.  “In October, we have launched an internal study on how to support the displaced population. We want to support the government in its efforts to offer these people a decent future life in Armenia”, – noted Mr. Thut.

Mr. Thut was followed by Mrs. Svajyan, who noted that the agricultural sector is one of the priority directions of the Ministry in terms of professional education, therefore the results of the project are important not only from the project point of view, but also for the given sector development.

At the steering committee meeting the challenges encountered during the implementation of the project and how to address the current challenges in a targeted manner were discussed․  During the meeting the planned interventions for 2024 were presented.

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

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

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