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UNDP Armenia press release

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  • UNDP Armenia press release

    From: Aramazd Ghalamkaryan <[email protected]>
    Subject: UNDP Armenia press release

    United Nations Development Programme Country Office in Armenia

    14, Petros Adamyan Street, Yerevan 0010, Armenia
    Contact: Aramazd Ghalamkaryan
    Tel: (374 10) 56 60 73, ext. 121
    Fax: (374 10) 54 38 11
    E-mail: [email protected]
    Web: http://www.undp.am

    UNDP COUNTRY OFFICE IN ARMENIA
    May 4, 2006

    Helping Communities Help Themselves

    UNDP's new project starts with an honest discussion of local problems
    with the heads of fifteen villages in Armavir province

    Baghramyan village, Armenia - Today, two project teams of United
    Nations Development Programme (UNDP) visited Armavir province in
    Southwestern Armenia to meet with heads of fifteen villages – future
    stakeholders of the projects – and to present the initiative. UNDP
    Armenia's projects on Community Development and Performance Budgeting
    joined their minds and funds to achieve a breakthrough in the district
    of Baghramyan.

    What the projects aim to achieve is to meet the immediate social needs
    in communities, resolving certain long-term economic issues, such as
    lack of employment and incomes, sharing goals for their communities and
    the district as a whole.

    The project teams were recently strengthened by well-known local experts
    working in the field of community development. Through application of
    new methods of budgeting (results-based), involvement of the local
    self-governance bodies and the local citizens in the discussion and
    prioritization of needs, decision making, elaboration of village
    development plans, joint implementation, as well as joint monitoring of
    all the processes, a new and advanced level of community development, of
    citizens being engaged in their own development will be achieved.

    Mr. Vrej Jijian, UNDP project manager, addressed the participants of the
    meeting: "Your voice is and will be vital for us and for this
    initiative: we will base the projects’ ideas on this. Every step forward
    will need not only your consent but active participation and shared
    responsibility."

    "How can we bring about a sense of consolidation? What are your own
    long-term visions of your respective villages? All in all, renovation of
    buildings is far less important than change in the people's attitudes
    and behaviours: this is what we ultimately aim for," – noted Ms.
    Hripsime Manukyan, project expert.

    The gap between the capital city Yerevan and provinces of Armenia, in
    terms of access to social and health care services, education, economic
    conditions and benefits of the high economic growth, has widened during
    the recent five years. The level of participation of citizens at the
    local level is also very weak. While the economy grows rapidly, the
    challenge for the country is to distribute this wealth in an equitable
    way, especially outside Yerevan, and achieve a balanced situation in the
    country for all the communities to benefit from the growth, in line with
    the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

    In 2000, leaders of 191 countries, including Armenia, signed the
    Millennium Declaration, thus pledging to reach the eight Millennium
    Development Goals by 2015. The goals cover poverty, HIV/AIDS and other
    diseases, maternal and child health, environment, education, women's
    empowerment and global partnership.

    Since 2004, UNDP Armenia has successfully implemented a community
    development programme in Karakert village in the same Baghramyan
    district. Based on this experience UNDP has launched a new phase of
    community development projects in 2006.

    * * *

    UNDP is the UN's global development network. It advocates for change
    and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help
    people build a better life. We operate in 166 countries, working with
    them on their own solutions to global and national development
    challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of
    UNDP and our wide range of partners.

    * * *

    For additional information, please contact Mr. Aramazd Ghalamkaryan,
    tel.: +374 10 56 60 73, ext. 121, +374 91 436 312, e-mail:
    [email protected].
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