How do children in Armenia participate in the decision-making process about their future? What are
the main gaps in child protection field and how to find their solutions?
To answer these questions, the Armenian Association of Social Workers organized a Youth camp for current and former beneficiaries of child care institutions in Armenia. The camp took place in Yenokavan village of Tavush province in July, 2017.
Activities performed at the camp gave children the opportunity to express their own views on child protection issues and suggest possible solutions.
The camp also hosted participants from Norwegian “Stiftelsen Hiimsmoenkollektivet” organization, who shared their own experience on specific cases.
The child participation principle served as a basis for the whole concept of the camp. This idea is expressed through the creation of appropriate conditions and opportunities for children to be heard, to freely express themselves, to be protected from all forms of violence and discrimination. This is one of the fundamental principles of the Association, and it stems from the best interests of the child.
Consolidated results and complete analysis will be shared at a public hearing to be held in Fall of 2017.
[The Youth camp was conducted by the Armenian Association of Social Workers through the support of UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF) in July 10-14, 2017 in the frame of “Acting together for an Accountable Social State in Armenia” project].
Do citizens of Armenia participate in local social protection reforms? To what extent they
are involved in decision making processes? What prevents them from fully participating in this process?
The Armenian Association of Social Workers (AASW) asked the aforementioned questions at 12 Town-Hall meetings with the participation of more than 800 citizens in all 11 regions of Armenia.
AASW consolidated and analyzed concerns and recommendations expressed by the participants in regards to citizen perception and awareness of social reforms. The Town Hall format became a platform for them to provide recommendations on the current reforms in the social protection system. In particular the following topics were covered during those discussions: reorganization of childcare institutions; social protection for people with disabilities; prevention of domestic violence; and introduction of integrated social services.
One of the common concerns raised by citizens during the meetings was the lack of social services in marzes, as well as the inaccessibility of and poor collaboration between existing local services. These and other issues directly affect the quality of provided services and consequently the possible resolution of local social problems.
“ … there is a USUAL PRACTICE in this system, which will never make it function properly .
We are not yet ready for those changes…”
It was evident that the town hall participants were skeptical about systemic reforms to the social protection system. However citizens did express hope that new reforms would lead to desired changes and were enthusiastic to share their recommendations for supporting the reform processes.
Based on some of the recommendations from participants at these meetings, AASW believes that citizens lack reliable information on the current social reforms. Information on legislative amendments are either inaccessible to citizens or provided to citizens after the legislation has already been implemented, meaning a participatory approach does not exist for citizens to express their views in those changes.
“ … We would appreciate if there is at least an informational leaflet available
to raise our awareness about the current processes….”
Town hall meetings have been conducted through the support of UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF) in the frame of “Acting together for an Accountable Social State in Armenia” project.
Consolidated results and complete analysis will be shared at a public hearing to be held in Fall of 2017.
Reykjavik (Iceland) hosted the IFSW European Delegates Meeting 2017 on 26-28 of May. The Armenian
Association of Social Workers has been represented by the President of the Association Mira Antonyan and the Executive Director Manane Petrosyan.
The meeting has been welcomed by the Icelandic Association of Social Workers and attended by overall 45 Delegated from 22 European countries.
Manane Petrosyan has been re-elected to serve as the First Deputy Executive for a one-year-period.
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