The second Community Forum was held

Feb 22

On February 20, 2025, the second annual Community Forum took place in Yerevan as part of the "DeaLOG" program by SALAR International. This year, the forum was titled "The Role of Communities in Education: A Unified Voice," focusing on the decentralization of education and local government reforms. The forum aimed to consolidate all communities around the decentralization agenda, providing an opportunity to raise a unified voice, engage in productive discussions, and foster dialogue with the executive branch of government.

The forum was attended by representatives from all partner institutions of the "DeaLOG" program, including numerous community leaders, local government officials, representatives from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia, the Swedish Embassy, and the Council of Europe’s Yerevan office.

Representatives of the Armenian government, such as Vardan Kostanyan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, and Araxia Svajyan, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports, discussed the ongoing changes in their respective sectors and the state's approach to decentralization. They emphasized the importance of international best practices, specifically Sweden's rich traditions and successful long-term experience in local government reforms and decentralization.

Deputy ministers coordinating the relevant sectors also informed attendees about ongoing legislative work in education and local government fields. Participants were introduced to the Swedish educational experience, successes in collaboration between local authorities and schools, and other relevant developments.

For this purpose, representatives from SALAR and SALAR International, led by Executive Director Ryan Nox, arrived in Armenia. SALAR partners shared international experiences with forum participants regarding the role of communities in education, their responsibilities, accountability, and best governance practices, as well as the collective voice of communities. In particular, Swedish experts presented the STYRSAM tool to their Armenian counterparts using slides, a methodological toolset that is used by around 50 municipalities in Sweden to make local government more democratic, transparent, accountable, and responsible.

Ryan Nox, Executive Director of SALAR International, welcomed the forum participants, thanking them for accepting the invitation and emphasized that it was a great honor for him to return to Yerevan and continue the discussions on the decentralization agenda with Armenian government partners and local authorities.

During the forum, engaging panel discussions took place between community leaders (Masis, Vanadzor, Vagharshapat) and sectoral officials from government agencies (MTAI, ESCS), which were marked by intense activity and a clash of viewpoints. Both at the beginning and at the end of the conference, local and state officials expressed that the idea of organizing such a forum has already been accepted by the concerned parties and has become an anticipated annual event.

This year, despite unfavorable weather conditions, more than 70 participants attended the forum, representing all regions and communities of Armenia, including around three dozen community leaders, more than 20 deputy heads of communities, numerous secretaries from municipal offices, heads of departments from regional governors' offices, and community service workers.

Varsenik Mnatsakanyan, Head of the "DeaLog" Program in Armenia, informed the forum participants that in order to promote local government reforms and ensure communication in the sector, the RA Decentralization Portal will be launched in the near future.