TWO-YEAR ANTICORRUPTION PROGRAM LAUNCHED IN ARMENIA

ArmRadio.am
02.03.2007 10:32

The Eurasia Foundation Armenia (EF) launched a two-year anticorruption
program to increase the role of Armenia’s government, civil society and
the media in the fight against corruption. The program is supported
by the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) and the US Agency for
International Development (USAID).

This new initiative will increase the role of the Armenian Government,
civil society and media in the fight against corruption through a
combination of trainings, international study tours, grants and network
development. The program’s first year will include a series of training
seminars for civil society organizations, government officials and
the media on a range of topics including investigative journalism;
monitoring of government spending; and development of internal
policies and procedures for promoting government accountability and
transparency. Following the completion of the training component,
EF will conduct a grant competition among local NGOs, media outlets
and journalist associations to support projects that reduce the risk
of corruption and build partnerships between sectors for improved
government accountability.

Study tours for government officials to Europe and the CIS will
promote understanding of existing approaches to promoting government
transparency. A network of government officials, civil society
organizations and the media will also be convened by EF to develop
coordinated anticorruption strategies and promote policy reform. The
network will design and manage a web-based anticorruption resource
center that will provide the public with access to electronic resources
including training curricula, tool kits and case studies.

"Eurasia Foundation believes that the fight against corruption is
essential in order to alleviate poverty and to promote Armenia’s
economic and democratic development. We also understand that success
in the fight against corruption requires the participation of all
segments of society, including the media, business, civil society,
and the government. EF’s newest anticorruption initiative is unique
because it will promote partnership between all parts of our society
for improved transparency in all sectors," stated Ara Nazinyan,
Country Director for EF Armenia.

The program is based upon recommendations generated by an International
Anti-Corruption Conference, which was organized by Eurasia Foundation
in April 2006 in cooperation with the National Assembly of the Republic
of Armenia, UNDP and OSCE. It also draws upon lessons learned from
other EF initiatives for promoting government transparency, increasing
citizens’ awareness of their legal rights when dealing with government
officials, and providing the public with information on how to protect
these rights.