Liana Mikayelyan
PeaceBuilding - Education - Armenia (Eastern Europe and FSU)
After regaining independence in 1991 Armenia is in a social-economic transition period. In the mid-1990s the government embarked on an economic reform programme which brought greater stability and some growth. However, unemployment and poverty remain widespread. The country has also been imposed with trade blockade by its neighbours Turkey and Azerbaijan since the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh a predominantly Armenian-populated region in Azerbaijan. A ceasefire in place since 1994 has failed to deliver any lasting solution. Moreover, towns like Gyumry still bear the scars of the earthquake in 1988 which killed more than 25 000 people and left many families incomplete and homeless. Life in temporary houses, poverty and the absence of and skills for peace building resulted in a deep psychological depression.
Liana believes that a lack of mediation and negotiation techniques is the basis for children’s aggression and conflict.
“My project is the formation of a peace centre in Northern Armenia, where children (7-13 years) will have the opportunity to learn about Peace Building and conflict resolution. NGO Women for Development and its staff will fully support my work. Conflict resolution teaching will help to stop conflicts among school children, their violations and illegal actions and will promote positive changes in their behaviour and character.”
Strategy:
Liana’s plan is to build a peace centre for children where they can develop skills and knowledge in Peace Building. She wants to train trainers and also aims to create a database with new lecture and dialectic materials for education. The centre will be set up in Northern Armenia. Liana is working together closely with NGO “Women for Development”.
The Action plan aims to promote positive change in children’s behaviour by involving young kids in different activities such as exhibitions, poster contests, newsletter edition.
Liana plans to evaluate her work through conducting a survey among children as well as their parents showing how the work of the centre and its activities affects children’s behaviour.
Past Accomplishments & Skills:
Liana has a wide range of experience in social activism and she has been working in various community projects. She has experience in conducting surveys and translating documents. She obtained Masters degree in Political Science from Central European University,Hungary.
In the Skills Survey she noted that she has very good knowledge in working with the media as well as networking &forming partnerships. Also her knowledge in conflict resolution & negotiation and communicating ideas &developing community campaigns is good.
Implementation:
In 2005 Liana moved to Hungary to startone year Master's Program in Political Science at the Central European University. Therefore she wasnot working on her Action Plan actively. She came back in June 2006 and she said that she is happy that she could build a good framework for her project working together closely with “Women for Development”. Her resources include other staff’s experiences, office equipment, training manuals etc. She could successfully establish partnerships with principals.
A difficulty she came across was related to the necessity of peace building. It was sometimes not easy to convince principals and teachers that conflict resolution skills should be developed from an early age and not after kids have graduated.
Organizations:
Liana is working with the NGO “Women for Development”. During the last call Liana said that her experience with that organisation has only been very positive. She couldn’t think of any disadvantages because received their full support and gained a lot of strength. For her working with an organisation means that you can work on the same goals with other people. At the same time she has a high level of independence.
Future Impacts & Plans:
Liana’s Action Plan is based on conflict resolution and contributes to security and safety within the Armenian society. In the long term this will have a positive impact on the socio-economic development of the country.
