English
ՀայերենDevelop Armenia Program In Four Communities around the Country
The "Luys" Foundation "Develop Armenia" Program (DAP) was implemented in four different communities in Armenia from July 16 to August 11, 2010. In a course of 4 weeks a number of projects were designed and realized with the efforts of Luys 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 scholars, the Luys staff, guests experts along with the Luys young experts.
The main goal of the program was to link Luys students with the Armenian reality.Luys students strived to elaborate approaches for thinking together and solving common problems,most importantly they learnt how to apply their knowledge to work and using local available resources.
According to Luys scholar from the London School of Economics Arthur Khalatyan, the most important thing that DAP gives to its students is asense of being responsible for your country. "When you feel you you can do something, you are ready to do more. The program connects the students with Armenia and in particularly with its regions (marzes). Itallows for a better understanding of the country, since we also have scholars, who are not from Armenia" Arthur stated.
The workplanned forthe first weekwas set in the village of Yenoqavan (Ijevan, Tavoush region). 90 Luys students and guests organized brainstorming sessions, which aimed at learning to think together and act as one, learning how to make a transition from academic knowledge to concrete projects, responding to the needs of communities.
Luys student from the Moscow State University, Narek Aslikyan suggested allotting more time to the projects in the communities, considering it the most important part of the program.
Luys Foundation Executive Director Jacqueline Karaaslanian noted, that during the first week in Yenoqavan, the students were provided with the tools and methods that they needed in order to create ties with the communities. "In the course of the program our students were cutoff from the world and away from the reality that came from,and were immersed into the Armenian reality".
She also mentioned that the week spent in Yenoqavan was to enable the students to get to know each other. DAP participants became a family and adapted to team work. The first week aimed at organizing collaborative thinking strategies among the students. During the second and the third weeks, collaborative thinking was used to design and implement concrete projects.
After the first week of being together,all Luys students and guests were distributed among four communities in Armenia; the city of Gyumri, Jermouk, and the villages of Tsaghkunq (marz Gegharqunik) and Vanq in Artsakh. The students carried out a series of activities to establish a relationship with community members and learn which were the problems or challenges they had to face. Afterwards the students undertook to design projects that would address the identified problems.
The participants were working with representatives of all the social spheres and age groups, ranging from farmers, to businessmen to public officials, from schoolchildren, to parents and teachers.
In all four communities, Luys members visited school campuses; where they ran workshops, organized intellectual role play, group games, and advised younger students on their choicesfor a future profession.
The Artzakh team, among other projects, prepared and provided the schools with learning materials and up-to-date information pertaining to different courses of study. Due to the internet being inaccessible in the village, school teachers and staff could not acquire the latest learning materials the children needed for their education.
The Jermouk team developed a business plan for the 'Jermouk Tourism Association', focused on supporting the owners of hotels and other related businesses, to promote their services and revive the Jermouk area.
Luys architect students and young architects of Gyumri teamed up to develop a project, which focuses onthe advancement of the city of Gyumri. Other Luys members produced an exhibition titled "Gyumri Opens Its Doors" which displayedphotos taken by studentsand that showed the beauty of the city in a whole new way.
The Tsaghkunq team cleaned the unused field with the local children, shaping it into a football field and naming it after a soldier from Tsaghkunq who had passed away during the war. On the opening day of the field, the children from Tsaghkunq, Luys students and members of "Ararat-73" a professional and very famous footfall team in Armenia played together.
The Luys teams presented and summarized the implemented efforts along with designed projectsduring the DAP fourth and final week in Yerevan. Everyone got together to evaluate each group’s work and think of the follow-up needed and the next steps in preparation for the DAP 2011.
According to Luys scholar from the London School of Economics Arthur Khalatyan, the most important thing that DAP gives to its students is asense of being responsible for your country. "When you feel you you can do something, you are ready to do more. The program connects the students with Armenia and in particularly with its regions (marzes). Itallows for a better understanding of the country, since we also have scholars, who are not from Armenia" Arthur stated.
The workplanned forthe first weekwas set in the village of Yenoqavan (Ijevan, Tavoush region). 90 Luys students and guests organized brainstorming sessions, which aimed at learning to think together and act as one, learning how to make a transition from academic knowledge to concrete projects, responding to the needs of communities.
Luys Foundation Executive Director Jacqueline Karaaslanian noted, that during the first week in Yenoqavan, the students were provided with the tools and methods that they needed in order to create ties with the communities. "In the course of the program our students were cutoff from the world and away from the reality that came from,and were immersed into the Armenian reality".
She also mentioned that the week spent in Yenoqavan was to enable the students to get to know each other. DAP participants became a family and adapted to team work. The first week aimed at organizing collaborative thinking strategies among the students. During the second and the third weeks, collaborative thinking was used to design and implement concrete projects.
After the first week of being together,all Luys students and guests were distributed among four communities in Armenia; the city of Gyumri, Jermouk, and the villages of Tsaghkunq (marz Gegharqunik) and Vanq in Artsakh. The students carried out a series of activities to establish a relationship with community members and learn which were the problems or challenges they had to face. Afterwards the students undertook to design projects that would address the identified problems.
In all four communities, Luys members visited school campuses; where they ran workshops, organized intellectual role play, group games, and advised younger students on their choicesfor a future profession.
The Artzakh team, among other projects, prepared and provided the schools with learning materials and up-to-date information pertaining to different courses of study. Due to the internet being inaccessible in the village, school teachers and staff could not acquire the latest learning materials the children needed for their education.
The Jermouk team developed a business plan for the 'Jermouk Tourism Association', focused on supporting the owners of hotels and other related businesses, to promote their services and revive the Jermouk area.
The Tsaghkunq team cleaned the unused field with the local children, shaping it into a football field and naming it after a soldier from Tsaghkunq who had passed away during the war. On the opening day of the field, the children from Tsaghkunq, Luys students and members of "Ararat-73" a professional and very famous footfall team in Armenia played together.
The Luys teams presented and summarized the implemented efforts along with designed projectsduring the DAP fourth and final week in Yerevan. Everyone got together to evaluate each group’s work and think of the follow-up needed and the next steps in preparation for the DAP 2011.
Ovsanna Gevorgyan
