The Open Door mechanism represents a part of the USAID-funded Support to Armenia-Turkey Rapprochement Project implemented jointly by a consortium of organizations, including Eurasia Partnership Foundation, Yerevan Press Club, Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia and International Center for Human Development and Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council. The mechanism will support innovative and/or pilot ideas in support of Armenia-Turkey dialogue, expand the number of organizations participating in this dialogue, and address the issues, which may have been omitted from the Project scope until now.
During the period of February 1, 2011 – July 1, 2011, a total of 27 inquiries were received, 11 of them were shortlisted. During the Armenia-Turkey Open Door Selection Committee meetings on March 12, 2011, April 29, 2011 and June 22, 2011, 5 inquiries were approved for funding. A few inquiries are still in the process of review.
Below is the list of approved projects and their brief descriptions.
Project Title: Gyumri-Kars Economic Forum
Project Director: Artush Mkrtchyan
Total Budget: $19,927
Duration: August 1 – November 30, 2011 (4 months)
To support trade and business development between Armenia and Eastern Turkey through the establishment of a regional business forum enabling discussion of issues of common interest and providing an opportunity for contact-making and business partnership development. As part of the project, the grantee, Gyumri Development Foundation, will build upon the previous experience and organize the second Gyumri-Kars Economic Forum in Kars, Turkey during October-November 2011. About 40 Armenian and Turkish businessmen, regional and international experts will participate in the Forum and discuss the prospects of development and implementation of joint business projects, particularly in the context of Armenia-Turkey economic relations. The Forum will last 3 days and address a broad range of issues, such as the opening of Armenia-Turkey border and its economic benefits for the region, common economic market in the South Caucasus, Caucasus brands as a peace-building tool, as well as a set of specific topics, such as prospects of joint dairy production, beekeeping, production of honey and medicinal herbs, Caucasus tea blends and others. The project will result in increased cooperation and development of joint business projects between Armenian and Turkish entrepreneurs and companies in food production and processing.
Project Title: 7th International Film Festival for Children and Young People
Project Director: Nune Manukyan
Total Budget: $19,858
Duration: August 1, 2011 – October 31, 2011 (3 months)
To contribute to enhanced cultural dialogue between societies of Armenia and Turkey through supporting professional exchange and bilateral projects between Armenian and Turkish children and youth, as well as between filmmakers. Within the framework of the 7th International Film Festival for Children and Young People in Yerevan in October 2011, the grantee, the Armenian Foundation for Promotion of Cinema and TV for Children and Youth Rolan Bykov Foundation, in cooperation with a Turkish partner, Anadolu Kultur, will organize a workshop on the techniques and culture of animation production for a select group of about 10 Armenian and Turkish youth. As part of the workshop, the participants will co-produce a short animation film, which will be premiered at the closing ceremony of the festival in Armenia. Also, a round-table discussion focusing on experience-sharing among the participants of the festival, and a presentation on recent initiatives in the area of arts and culture in Turkey will be organized on the sidelines of the festival. The festival will also feature 4-5 Turkish films addressing a theme relevant for children and youth. The project will result in children and youth, and filmmakers from Armenia and Turkey establishing mutual contact and improving their skills in the production of independent film. The project and the follow-up activity in Turkey will also contribute to strengthening the humanistic image of the other side among engaged communities in Armenia and Turkey.
Project Title: Information and Assistance Center for Armenian and Turkish Entrepreneurs
Project Director: Armen Hovhannisyan
Total Budget: $19,950
Duration: August 1, 2011 – March 31, 2012 (8 months)
To support trade and business development between Armenia and Eastern Turkey through increasing awareness of Armenian and Turkish businessmen about potential business opportunities in pre-selected industries in Armenia and Eastern Turkey and promoting feasible models of business cooperation among Armenian and Turkish businessmen. As part of the project, the grantee, Narekavank Tour LLC, will establish an Information and Consulting Center in Yerevan, which will serve as “one-stop shop” for information for Armenian and Turkish entrepreneurs interested in cooperation with one another. The Center will provide customized assistance to individual entrepreneurs and companies through exploring opportunities of potential business cooperation with counterparts from both countries, and carry out ongoing assessment of potential economic opportunities between Armenia and targeted regions in Eastern Turkey, such as Kars, Van, Mush, Adana, Antakya, Erzurum, Diyarbakir, as well as in Istanbul. The Center will also run a website featuring company profiles and information about legal aspects of business cooperation between Armenian and Turkish businesses. The project will result in increased awareness of business opportunities among Armenian and Turkish businessmen, which will reduce the existing levels of distrust and promote greater willingness to engage in business partnership with counterparts from the neighboring country.
Project Title: BUS | A mobility reporting project
Project Director: Sonya Apresova
Total Budget: $10,220
Duration: August 1, 2011 – October 31, 2011 (3 months)
To contribute to the increased awareness of the societies of Armenia and Turkey about one another through the illustration of social ramifications of a closed border. As part of the project, the grantee, Independent Journalists’ Network NGO, will document the problems facing the Armenian migrants during their 36-hour bus trip between Yerevan and Istanbul. The grantee will also establish a blog featuring the views and the experiences of the observed Armenian migrants. The materials posted on the blog will also be published in AGOS newspaper based in Istanbul. To ensure broader public awareness a documentary film will be produced based on the collected material. The film will be broadcast via the IMC TV in Turkey and Yerkir Media TV in Armenia. The grantee will also arrange group screenings in small-scale cinema theatres in Armenia and Turkey for stakeholders from civil society, government, media, and expert community. The project will result in increased awareness among ordinary public and stakeholder groups in Armenia and Turkey of the experiences and challenges that the Armenian migrants face when traveling to Turkey, as well as will further feed the public discussion on the ramifications of the closed border.
Project Title: Armenian-speaking Hamshen Muslims
Project Director: Vahan Ishkhanyan
Total Budget: $19,895
Duration: October 1, 2011 – March 31, 2012 (6 months )
To contribute to mitigated cultural estrangement between Armenian and Turkish societies through introducing the general public in both countries to the identity issues and culture of the Muslim Humshen Armenians residing in Turkey, as an example of a unique ethnic unit practicing Armenian traditions and language alongside with Muslim religion. The grantee, Inknagir Literary Club in cooperation with a Turkish partner, “Biryaşam Kültür ve Ekoloji Derneği” (“One Life” Cultural and Ecological Union), will set out on an expedition to 2-3 villages in Hopa residence – the primary settlement of Humshen Armenians in Turkey – to conduct a series of interviews with the Hamshens and to collect photo and video materials on their traditions, daily life, language, degree of integration in the Turkish society, social and economic problems and other issues. As part of the project, a set of articles will be written in Armenian and Turkish languages based on the collected information and published in tert.am online daily and 168 zham weekly in Armenia. The grantee and the Turkish partner will elaborate a strategy to ensure dissemination of the project material via Turkish media. Also, the findings of the expedition will be presented at a PechaKucha Night in Yerevan, Armenia. Finally, the materials will be published on a dedicated website and distributed to wider public on CDs. The project will result in increased public awareness among Armenian and Turkish populations of the lifestyle and concerns of the Humshen Armenian community in Turkey.
Project Title: Shirak EXPO 2011: Women Leading Economic Development
Project Director: Gayane Avagyan
Total Budget: $18,987
Duration: November 15, 2011 – February 29, 2012 (3 months)
To contribute to the development of economic ties between Armenia and Turkey through supporting cross-border cooperation among women-led businesses of the two countries. The grantee, Shirak Competitiveness Center Foundation, will hold its annual Shirak EXPO that will host a group of businesswomen from Turkey, and will focus on the role of women in economic development. About 50 Armenian and 10 Turkish businesswomen will participate in the EXPO in Gyumri on November 24-25, 2011. The first day of the event will include a trade fair of food products, construction materials, textile, and services. The second day of the event will provide a forum for the participants to discuss a broad range of topics including the overviews of the economies of Armenia and Turkey, women’s role and involvement in business, as well as investment risks and opportunities in production and service sectors in Armenia and Turkey. The project will result in the establishment of an informal regional network of businesswomen, as well as will set grounds for the development of joint business projects between women-led businesses from Armenia and Turkey.
Project Title: Environmentally Sustainable Workshop for Turkish and Armenian Architecture and Planning Students/Young Professionals
Project Director: Marine Manucharyan
Total Budget: $19,978
Duration: December 1, 2011 – February 29, 2012 (3 months)
To contribute to increased communication, networking and exchange of experience between academic and professional circles of Armenia and Turkey through establishing a cross-border network of students, young professionals and faculty members interested in environmentally sustainable building and city design. The grantee, “Civic Forum” NGO together with Yildiz Technical University from Turkey will organize a workshop on environmental sustainability challenges of the built environment. The five-day workshop in Istanbul will bring together 20 young professionals in the field of energy efficiency, as well as expert speakers from Armenia and Turkey around the issue of energy-efficient architecture. The workshop will be designed to facilitate networking and exchange of knowledge and expertise between the young specialists and trigger off cooperation among them through development of joint projects. Participants will have an opportunity to visit companies and research centres focusing on energy issues to identify relevant issues and ideas for joint projects. As part of the workshop, the project also anticipates publication of joint articles and an e-bulletin, as well as public presentations at universities and unions of architects in Armenia and Turkey. The established ties and communication between the participants will outflow into an online forum, which will be developed to sustain and expand the discussion initiated at the workshop. The project will result in the establishment of an informal network of specialists interested in environmental sustainability and built environment in Armenia and Turkey, as well as lay the foundation for possible cooperation amongst them.
05 February 2012
Please watch an interview conducted by CivilNet with Dafina Gercheva, UN Resident Coordinator on Social Cohesion Survey done by EPF/CRRC
05 February 2012
Turkish and Armenian NGOs and civil society groups continue to pursue «second track diplomacy» to maintain momentum.
23 January 2012
Eurasia Partnership Foundation announces the annual open competition entitled New Content and New Technologies as part of the “Alternative Resources in Media” program. More informataion on proposal requirements and selection criteria can be found below.
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