Much has been said about the imperative to cooperate in politics. Certainly, it would be naïve to expect a comprehensive cooperative political milieu at the moment, considering the realities we are in. However, it is also obvious that we should have started cooperating already yesterday. There are always issues that unite, issues that are not bargained by any Armenian or any political party.
more >>Even an unsubstantiated optimist will fail to describe Armenian politics as ‘friendly’ or ‘harmonious’. Similarly, it is difficult to describe the current political discourse as ‘future-oriented’. Ultimately, the ‘new’ keep vigorously rejecting the ‘old’, and the ‘old’ keep scolding the ‘new’, whether the latter deserve the rebuke or not. In the result, the public, which has turned into a mere audience, continues to wonder: “Nothing changes in this world…”. This is the political reality you and I have today, and it resembles a kindergarten well-disguised behind resplendent words.
more >>The tomorrow has always contained delicate hints for the present. There are people, social groups and societies that see, hear and perceive the implicit undertones of the inevitable tomorrow. There are also those that recklessly crash into the vortex of the present, creating new swirls and transforming into a new eddy, without even a glance at the friendly guidance of the future.
In the result, the first type of people, social groups, governments, oppositions and societies act beyond maximalism; they make an effort to avoid taking irrevocable turns; they rely on institutional memory and turn into fine or poor architects of the present that believe that ‘the future is the value added that includes the past’. Therefore, every and each action of today is measured against the vision that change of roles in the future is ineluctable. Every action is determined by considering abstractions, such as “What will happen when I will have to be in your shoes?”. These actions become more inclusive and less fierce, thus earning absolution granted by the future for the future.
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Understanding of inflation changes over time. Years ago, economists claimed that except the negative social implications of inflation, it has also some positive implications for production and economic growth, and therefore, sometimes a higher level of inflation should be allowed to address some problems of economic development. Time, however, puts things right, and the recurring financial-economic crises, social-economic disasters, and the progressing economic thought resulted in a universally accepted position: inflation is an enemy.
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When Ilham Aliyev inherited the power from his father, he publicly spoke of the need for more time, and took a break from the negotiations around Artsakh conflict. He needed time to consolidate the power, to understand the essence of the negotiations, to internalize the process and to strengthen his positions. Time showed that he used this time to harden his positions, to arm, to war, to stifle civil society and to establish dictatorship.
Time is an important resource: you can speed it up or slow it down. Post-revolutionary Armenia also should be able to manage time properly. After change of government, and especially after a revolution, time is needed to consolidate power. If Ilham Aliyev was using time to consolidate dictatorship, Armenia needs time to consolidate democracy.
more >>On January 30, 2024 ICHD organized the first Town Hall Meeting within ACE in Vayk consolidated community, comprising 17 rural and urban settlements, in close collaboration with the local government, "Solution Hub" NGO and their beneficiaries, active young people from the community. The results are summarized in the THM report available in Armenian only.
more >>The Publication is available only in Armenian.
more >>This report presents the process and the key results of the August 13, 2024 youth-oriented Town Hall Meeting (THM) organized within the “Armenia Civics for Engagement” (ACE) Program.
The goal of the “Armenia Civics for Engagement” Program is to improve the quality of Armenia’s formal and non-formal civic education to foster youth public participation and advancement of democratic processes in Armenia. The Program is implemented by Project Harmony International and its sub-awardees International Center for Human Development, Armenian Center for Democratic Education-CIVITAS and National Center of Educational Technologies. You can find out more about the ACE Program at www.facebook.com/ArmCivics4Engage.
The program is made possible by the generous support of the American People through USAID․
This report presents the process and the key results of the August 13, 2024 youth-oriented Town Hall Meeting (THM) organized within the “Armenia Civics for Engagement” (ACE) Program.
The goal of the “Armenia Civics for Engagement” Program is to improve the quality of Armenia’s formal and non-formal civic education to foster youth public participation and advancement of democratic processes in Armenia. The Program is implemented by Project Harmony International and its sub-awardees International Center for Human Development, Armenian Center for Democratic Education-CIVITAS and National Center of Educational Technologies. You can find out more about the ACE Program at www.facebook.com/ArmCivics4Engage.
The program is made possible by the generous support of the American People through USAID․