QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

Spring 2014, Issue 16

Lets Shape Our Future Ourselves
Syunik Hosts an International Youth Initiative
1
April 25-30, 2014, were memorable days for the
people living in Vayots Dzor region, partcularly for
the residents of Hermon village. During that tme
Lucy Tour Hotel Resort hosted young people from
Georgia, Spain, Ukraine, Germany, Switzerland and
Armenia, to share their experience and skills, to get
to know each others culture, values and lifestyle.
The occasion was Lets Shape Our Future Ourselves
training course, which was a Syunik-Development
NGO program aimed at encouraging cross-cultural
awareness, as well as developing leadership skills
among young people from rural areas in diferent
countries. The project was implemented within the
Youth in Acton (YiA) program sponsored by Euro-
pean Commission and facilitated by two experienced
and skillful YiA trainers from Armenia and Spain.
We believe that young people are capable of
making a diference in their communites. They
just need support to become actvely involved in
their communites and promote rural community
development. They can also infuence their peers
and involve them in the process. Young people are
the future of our communites and we should in-
vest in them, said Naira Harutyunyan from Syunik
NGO. The program was a good platorm for youth
to share their experiences and practces, and to
strengthen further communicaton and cooperaton.
In additon to the training course, a cultural event
was part of the initatve as well during which par-
tcipants had an opportunity to present their coun-
trys cultural features and engage in conversatons
with guests and with each other. The cultural event
was atended many high ranking guests including
Mr. Edgar Ghazaryan, the Governor of Vayots Dzor
Region, Archbishop Abraham Mkrtchyan, the Pri-
mate of Vayots Dzor Diocese, Mr. Davit Harutyun-
yan, the Mayor of Yeghegnadzor, regional represen-
tatves, community leaders, community residents
and local youth organizatons. The recogniton and
support from regional authorites, Vayots Dzor Dio-
cese, community leaders and local residents play a
large and signifcant role for Syunik mission - build-
ing human capital in communites through young
people would be challenging without local sup-
port, noted YiA Program Coordinator. Syunik wish-
es all the best to all the partcipants of the training
course as they go to their local communites and
get involved in community development projects.
A Nine Year Old Has a Profession
2
I like to work with things that make me happy,
says nine-year old Lilit Azizyan. Lilit lives and studies
in Vayk. For the past four months, she has been par-
tcipatng in the beadwork club at Syuniks Vayk Com-
munity Center. In her free tme she loves to paint,
sing and play the piano. Lilit
has a younger sister who
always tries to disturb her
when she is making bead-
work, but she concentrates
on her work and works
more diligently. The easi-
est thing for me is to make
small jewelry from beads,
she said. But my favorite
work is to make fowers,
although it is the most dif-
fcult work. She smiles and
says that she has also found
a job for her mother. Lilits mother makes the most
difcult parts of the fower: the stems and leaves.
Lilit started to work with more enthusiasm when
she sold her frst works. Although her hard work,
she doesnt regret selling her works - she uses the
money to buy new materials to contnue making new
products. My main costumers are my grandmother,
aunt and my neighbors, says Lilit and adds that her
classmates also ofen buy jewelry from her and share
Lilits success and happi-
ness. She tries to teach
her friends, relatves how
to make jewelry and share
with them some secret
techniques. She advises
her peers to take part in
beadwork classes in Vayk
Community Center, and
make their daily life more
interestng and joyful. Be-
ing so young, creatve and
energetc, Lilit is an excel-
lent example of what our
children can do if given the opportunity. Lilits and
many other benefciaries grattude goes to Bread for
the World for supportng beadwork and other clubs
in our community centers in Vayots Dzor region.
Frans Heldens Visited Syunik NGO
With the joint efort of Syunik-Development NGO
and PUM organizaton from the Netherlands, a strong
cooperaton has been established. In spring 2014,
Syunik NGO with the help of PUM organizaton import-
ed three varietes of pear seedlings (Williams, Con-
ference and Alikhandra Lukas) and hybrid rootstocks
(cherry, pear and apple) from the Netherlands. Afer
further cultvaton of the rootstocks, the farmers from
Vayots Dzor and Gegharkunik marzes will have an op-
portunity to acquire and establish their own nursery.
Every year since 2011, Syunik NGO has invited Mr.
Frans Heldens, expert from PUM organizaton, to visit
Armenia and provide consultancy to local farmers.
During this years visit, Mr. Heldens provided consul-
tancy to Vayots Dzor and Gegharkunik marz farmers
at Syunik NGOs Nursery (established in 2011). He vis-
ited Syuniks newly established pear nursery, where
he worked with our agricultural specialist Aramayis
Hakobyan to develop a joint plan for further devel-
opment of the nursery. Mr. Heldens also paid a visit
to Syunik NGOs rural community centers and gave
appropriate advice to the Community Development
project farm consultants and community members.
Polymer clay is surely one of the most excitng
new art materials of our tme. Available in a glorious
range of colors, it is a fne textured plastc modeling
compound that can be baked to a permanent hard-
ness in an ordinary home oven. It can be used for
more applicatons than virtually any other art medi-
um and in genres as varied as textles, sculptng, jew-
elry, doll-making, animaton, and fne art. For many
years polymer clay was largely used only by specialist
modelers, or was seen as childrens toys. The range
of artsts who now use polymer clay is enormous:
jewelers, sculptors, fne doll artsts, miniaturists, il-
lustrators, and animators are all recognizing it as a
versatle material that gives techniques and results
never before obtainable. Due to high demand in the
region, Syunik-Development NGO is opening new
polymer clay clubs in its Community Centers. Within
the Small Funded Project of Bread for the World So-
cial Development Program in February, a Russian art-
ist Astghik Leshuk was invited to conduct one week
master class in Yeghegnadzor. Astghik makes jewelry
from polymer clay. During one week of training she
was able to transfer her skills to local artsts who are
currently working in our local community centers
and teaching young women and young artsts how to
make jewelry from polymer clay. In a short tme, this
initatve has become very popular and increased the
number of benefciaries of our community centers.
Art Master Classes in Yeghegnadzor Community Center
Photo Exhibition
April 7, 2014, a Camps for Peace in South Cauca-
sus project contest and exhibiton enttled I am the
Peace was held in Syuniks Chiva community center.
The aim of the contest was to spread tolerance and
peace seeking behaviors among teenagers. Within
the announcement period we received 20 works.
The contest was divided into two categories such as
paintng and photo. For each category 1st, 2nd and
3rd place prizes were given. During the photo and
paintng exhibiton, the contest winners (Emma Sarg-
syan, 16 years old, village Khachik; Mary Harutyu-
nyan, 16 years old, village Khachik; Lusine Hovhan-
nisyan, 16 years old, town Vayk; Davit Aslanyan, 16
years old, town Vayk) received a certfcate and an
opportunity to partcipate in the Camps for Peace in
South Caucasus project in Armenia or Georgia.
3
On May 31, 2014, Mirjam Dubbert, representatve
from Public Relatons Department of Bread for the
World Germany, and Mathias Klingenberg, Regional
Director for DVV Internatonal based in Tbilisi Geor-
gia, paid a visit to Syunik NGO, Vayots Dzor Armenia.
This was Ms. Dubberts and Mr. Klingenbergs frst
visit with us. The main focus of their visit was to see
frsthand the local situaton and the living conditons
of the benefciaries of the Social Development pro-
gramme, collect stories and prepare media materi-
als about them. They visited our Community Centers
in Chiva, Yeghegnadzor and Vayk, which were es-
tablished with the fnancial support of EED/ Bread
for the World. During her visit Ms. Dubbert learned
about courses and clubs running in the centers. Ms.
Dubbert also met with parents of Chiva Community
Center (CC) benefciaries to discuss how CC actvites
impacted their lives. A visit to one of the benefcia-
ries house in Chiva was also part of her visit. Their
visit to the Vayk Community Center included learning
about the centers job club, potery and bead work
workshops, chess club, dancing and paintng clubs.
Mirjam Dubbert Visited Syunik NGO
From May 1st, 2014 Syunik NGO, together with
its Georgian partners, started this years annual
cross-border peace camp project. This project seeks
to develop friendships and tolerance among teen-
agers and youth from diferent backgrounds as
well as to raise awareness about diferent cultures,
values and traditons between Armenians, Geor-
gians and ethnic Azeri minorites living in Georgia.
A leadership training course which took place at
Bakuriani, Georgia from May 1st to 8th was the start
of this years project. The course covered topics re-
lated to efectve leadership and facilitaton which
included non-formal educatonal methods, interac-
tve games and role plays. The training was run by
two experienced trainers from Armenia and Georgia.
The training is a good platorm for youth from
diferent ethnic backgrounds to establish leader-
ship and teamwork skills which are essental when
working as leaders in the camp. The training also
helps partcipants to establish long-term friendships
and strengthen their communicatons skills, said
Naira Harutyunyan, a Project Manager at Syunik.
Peace Camp project is sponsored by HEKS and im-
plemented in cooperaton with Lazarus and Regional
Network for Peace and Reintegraton in Georgia.
4
Leadership Training Course
5
Monitoring Visit to the Benefciary
Communities of Gegharkunik Region
Three years ago Syunik-Development NGOs Rural
Development project in partnership with Swiss HEKS
and Dutch PUM organizatons established a nurs-
ery farm in Vayots Dzor region which produces high
quality fruit trees for individual gardeners. Within
the last 4 years, more than 60.000 trees have been
allocated to local farmers. This agricultural sector
has been signifcantly developed in the Vayots Dzor
region. In 2013 a monitoring result by HEKS showed
that Vayots Dzor region has great potental for long-
term development of nursery gardening.
According to HEKS and local (Vayots Dzor and
Gegharkunik regions) professional analysis, the
seedlings which are produced in Vayots Dzor are
also the best seedlings to establish gardens in
Gegharkunik region. As a result, in Fall of 2013 Shen
NGO experimentally acquired 200 pear and apple
trees and gave them to its benefciary farmers living
in Gegharkunik region. Shen NGO is one of the long-
term partners of HEKS, which supports a gardening
program in Gegharkunik region.
On June 7, 2014, Syunik NGO project staf, with the
project manager and regional coordinator of Shen
NGO, paid a monitoring visit to the 40 farmers liv-
ing in Gegharkunik region who acquired these apple
and pear trees. Our agricultural specialists with the
help of the farmers checked the viability of the trees
and confrmed that they meet quality standards and
ensured there is 85-90% rate of survival (from 100
seedlings, 90 are viable which is above the norm for
the product). During the visit, an agreement was de-
veloped between representatves of Syunik NGOs
nursery and farmers for further cooperaton and
purchasing of new seedlings.
Syunik-Development NGOs Demostraton Orchards
Aram Hakobyans Demonstraton Nursery in Getap
Monitoring Visit
Offce of International & Public Affairs
Syunik Development NGO
Momiki St. 5, 3601 Yeghegnadzor
Vayots Dzor Province, Armenia

Editor-in-Chief: Nara Martirosyan, Sam Houston State University
Tel/Fax: +374 (0281) 24009
Email: oipa.syunikngo@yahoo.com
www.syunikngo.am
6
Syunik NGO Staff Trainings and Activities
Vayots Dzor Marz Tourism Guidebook and Map
In May 2014,
Syunik NGO in
partnership, with
USAI D- f unded
Enterprise De-
velopment and
Market Compet-
tveness (EDMC)
Project and Na-
tonal Compet-
tveness Founda-
ton of Armenia
(NCFA), published
a new Vayots
Dzor Marz Tourism Guidebook and Map.
The guidebook and map present Vayots Dzor tour-
ism sites including cultural, historical and nature-rich
heritage sites. In the Guidebook prospectve visitors
can fnd the necessary informaton for planning their
trip to Vayots Dzor region (marz) including itnerar-
ies created with the help of professional local guides.
They can also fnd a list of trained local guides who
can accompany them during their visit to Vayots Dzor.
The Guide Map presents many noteworthy hotels,
B&Bs, cafes and restaurants, as well as guides that
will help visitors to arrange their accommodatons
and food every step of the way, making their trip
easier around the Vayots Dzor region. Vayots Dzor is
the Land of Dynasty, Legend, and Rugged Beauty
and is highly recommended tourism site on the way
to the southern part of the country.
The Vayots Dzor Guidebook and Map are available
in PDF version on Syunik NGOs Tourism Program
web page found here: htp://www.syunikngo.am/
eng/tourism-development/.
Gevorg Matevosyan, Syuniks PR ofcer, par-
tcipated in the frst PR SUMMIT in Armenia which
took place under the umbrella of PR Talks. PR SUM-
MIT was organized in American University of Ar-
menia by Deem Communicatons from April 11-
13 as a non-formal platorm that brings together
specialists from PR and communicaton spheres
with the aim of building professional network-
ers, setng a platorm for sharing ideas, exper-
tse, achievements and challenges in the feld.
From April 23rd to May 2nd, Arus Nersisyan,
Syuniks Program Managers Assistant, partcipated
in a training course enttled Rediscovering NON-
Formal Value Educaton which took place in Lithu-
ania. The course created a space for partcipants
to refect on their personal values, to refect on
the importance of values of educaton in the de-
velopment of young people as well as to develop
skills and awareness of being a valued educator.
From April 28th to May 6th, Anahit Yeghiaz-
aryan, the Coordinator of Syuniks Jermuk Com-
munity Center, partcipated in the frst introduc-
ton seminar of the Ecolab 2014 project which took
place in Stepanavan, Armenia. She gained proj-
ect development and management skills, as well
as became aware of ways how to be actvely in-
volved in her local community. Ecolab is the Arme-
nian country program of Joint Civic Educaton and
Syunik is one of the local partners for this initatve.

From May 26th to June 1st, Tatev Harutyun-
yan, Syuniks Programme Manager, partcipated
in a Training Course enttled TICTAC Network-
ing which took place in Brussels, Belgium. The
main focus of the training course was to discov-
er the challenges and opportunites of the Euro-
pean Unuions new Programme called Erasmus +.