On 17 May, events dedicated to Europe Day was held in the “COAF SMART” Center of Lori Marz.

EU Ambassador to Armenia Vasilis Maragos made a welcome speech. He began his speech in Armenian. “Today, we are celebrating Europe Day in Lori. Thank you, I am learning Armenian.” Aram Ghazaryan, Governor of Lori Marz was present as well.

“This event is important for Armenia, it is important for Europe, it is important for the youth. We are here to celebrate Europe Day, which is being celebrated for 70 years already. The event contributes to the empowerment of the future. It will give the residents of the region an opportunity to develop their talents and show what they are capable of. The European Union has been supporting the regions of Armenia and the residents of the regions for quite a long time. We have a number of development programs and tools for regions,” he said.

The Armenian Lawyers’ Association NGO participated in the event as well and presented three projects, which the organization implements with the support of the European Union.

In particular, the “Budgets 4 Citizens” (B4C) action funded by the European Union is being implemented with the financial support of the European Union by the Armenian Lawyers’ Association, in cooperation with partners “Economic Development and Research Center” (EDRC) NGO and “Agora Central Europe” NGO (Czech Republic). The project aims to contribute to the capacity building of CSOs by providing them with the necessary information, skills, human and technical resources on budget processes, as well as tools to engage in and influence budget policy debates.

The next project implemented by the ALA refers to the strengthening of mechanisms for the protection of the rights of forcibly displaced people from Nagorno Karabakh. The beneficiaries receive free legal aid within the framework of the program.

The third project, which ALA presented, was the “Multifaceted Whistle-Blowing (WB) Promotion in Armenia” implemented on the basis of the Open Government Partnership grant agreement, with financial support of the European Union. The overall objective of of the project is to promote the fight against corruption in Armenia, to get public support in the fight against corruption, to support the improvement of the whistleblowing system, to contribute to the change of the legal thinking and culture formed among the public in Armenia regarding whistleblowers, striving to create a positive and demanding image of the whistleblower as a citizen of Armenia.

Various organizations that implement different projects with the support of the European Union attended the event as well

The EU Ambassador made a tour in the pavilions and got acquainted with the programs. A festive concert took place at the end of the event.