The Institute for Youth Development

Hi again, in this post I will tell you about the projects that our NGO The Institute for Youth Development, the mission of which is to address the needs of young people, will undertake. Because the youth in Yerevan are more or less “taken care of”, meaning there are a number of NGO’s and state organizations that are already working in this area, we’ve decided to work in the regions, with young people with less opportunities and support.

So what are the basic needs that these people have? After a few visits to rural areas of Armenia, as well as a number of needs assessment reports prepared by international organizations we can first try to answer this question. And then maybe make our contribution to solving it.

Under the Soviet Union many smaller cities in Armenia had one or two major factories, that employed at least one member from most families. This ensured that most families had means to sustain themselves. People in adjacent rural areas, either made their living from agriculture or had to travel to the nearest city to work in a factory. Nowadays most of these factories are gone, which resulted in high unemployment out of Yerevan, which is being fought against, but still is rather persistent. This started in 1988….

So, this is the situation that young people in those areas are facing: Unemployed parents, or one parent, usually the father, working outside the country; poor infrastructures, school buildings that are too old, community entertainment centers that are closed, people around them, who are too worried about how to make both ends meet, and little hope…

That’s pretty sad, isnt it. In the following posts we will tell you how we decided we will make our contribution to bringing the change that those people need so much.

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A Blog About Youth and Their Life in Armenia

Hi Everyone! I am Liana, and I’ve decided to create this blog for everyone who has interest in the lives of young people in Armenia. I will be blogging about the concerns and challenges young people face, the opportunities and support they get, as well as the work, that my company, The Institute for Youth Development does for them to make a difference in the lives of this people.

I thought it is important to share this with you, especially those of you who live far away, the young Diaspora Armenians, who so want to know what the life in Armenia is all about. I will be telling about the young in Yerevan, and part of my blog will be dedicated to the youth in the regions of Armenia, as I think that those are the ones who are most in need of support, and because the mission of my Company is to help the young in the non-Yerevan parts of Armenia to develop the necessary skills to live a decent life.

In my following posts I promise to tell you about a typical day of a young Armenian who lives in Yerevan, goes to school like most of you, and meets friends in the evening, and of a young Armenian who lives somewhere in Chambarak (village in Armenia), who maybe goes to school like most of you, or maybe helps his father in the farm instead, to help him make both ends meet, and is so tired in the evening that cannot join his friends. Stay with me.

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