“Engaged Citizen” Course will be Introduced at 5 Universities Including ASUE

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Today, within the framework of the USAID-founded “Strengthening Electoral Processes and Political Accountability in Armenian (SEPPA) project, a signing ceremony of IFES Armenia’s “Engaged Citizen” University course took place at Double Tree by Hilton hotel, Yerevan. The launch of the civic education program entails the design of a new civic education course, which is to be adopted and added to the curriculum of five Universities in Yerevan, Gyumri and Vanadzor as an initial pilot stage.

The course is aimed to foster notions of active citizenship, democratic governance and human rights in modern Armenia via contemporary interactive teaching methodologies, by providing students with the knowledge, skills and means necessary for their effective engagement, as well as to strengthen democratic principles.

The event is attended by Jérôme Leyraud, International Foundation for Electoral Systems’ (IFES) Country Director for Armenia, Deborah Grieser, USAID/Armenia Mission Director, Hamazasp Danielyan, Deputy of the RA NA, Armen Smbatyan, Chairman of the CEC, Samvel Karabekyan, Advisor to the Minister of the RA ESCS, civil society representatives, guests.

The memorandum was signed by the Heads of 5 Universities – ASUE, YSU, YSULS, Vanadzor and Shirak State Universities.

Jérôme Leyraud, Deborah Grieser, Hamazasp Danielyan, Samvel Karabekyan made speeches. Diana galoyan, ASUE acting Rector, also made speech, expressed gratitude to the USAID Mission in Armenia and the RA Ministry of Education, Science, Sport and Culture for the opportunity to introduce such a course. ASUE Head noted that the mission of HEIs is not only to train good specialists but also to educate law-abiding citizens by inseminating democratic values ​​in them. "High levels of civic awareness and democratic values ​​are especially important for economists because research shows that the level of democracy and economic development in countries is interconnected, and the higher the level of democracy in countries, the more developed the economy is. Since 2018, Armenia has truly embraced the path of democracy, so engaging young people with democratic values ​​is more important for the development of our economy in transition. I am sure this program will be very effective, ”Diana Galoyan stated.

ASUE Media and Public Relations Division