On January 12, a public discussion was held in Vanadzor, during which the results of the budget analysis in the field of social protection were presented. The event was implemented by the “NGO Center” Civil Society Development NGO within the framework of a sub-grant project provided under the “Budgets for Citizens” project, implemented with the financial support of the European Union. The discussion focused on improving budget transparency and public participation in the sub-sector of integration of persons forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Lori Regional Governor’s Office and various municipal administrations of the region, staff members of the Vanadzor office of the Unified Social Service, representatives of civil society development organizations, as well as persons forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh. At the beginning of the event, opening remarks were delivered by Syuzan Hovsepyan, Grants Manager of the NGO Center.
Welcoming remarks were then delivered by Suzanna Soghomonyan, representative of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association and the “Budgets for Citizens” project. In her speech, she presented the activities implemented within the framework of the “Budgets for Citizens” project, placing particular emphasis on the development of budget literacy and related skills among civil society organizations and young professionals.
Subsequently, Nane Mkhitaryan, a young budget specialist of the project, presented the details of the conducted research, which included the analysis of the state budget for nine months of 2024 and 2025.
In the second part of the meeting, a discussion of recommendations was held. This discussion enabled participants to actively engage in identifying sectoral challenges and to develop practical recommendations aimed at improving social assistance programmes. The collected recommendations, together with the prepared analytical report, will be submitted to the competent state authorities with the aim of initiating positive changes in the sector.
This event was implemented with the financial support of the European Union, within the framework of a sub-grant provided under the “Budgets for Citizens” project, jointly implemented by the Armenian Lawyers’ Association NGO, the “Center for Economic Development and Research” NGO, and the “Agora Central Europe” NGO (Czech Republic).
The activity was carried out by the “NGO Center” Civil Society Development NGO within the framework of the project “Budget Analysis in the Social Sector”. Responsibility for the content lies with the NGO Center, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
