FIRST ANNUAL YCAP COMMUNITY CONFERENCE IN TSAGHKADZOR
armradio.am
03.08.2007 12:42
180 participants from all over Armenia are attending the First Annual
YCAP Community Conference for three days at the Writer’s House in the
tourist town of Tsaghkadzor, Armenia. The Youth and Community Action
Program (YCAP) is a 5 year USAID-funded program implemented by the
Academy for Educational Development Armenia Office which began in
October 2004.
The participants represent 60 YCAP community civic groups, either Youth
Action Clubs or Community Action Committees, established within the
program and are participating in workshops in three tracks: Leadership,
Community Relations and Civic Advocacy. Included in the conference
is a "Community Expo" where the participants highlight their group’s
accomplishments over the past years and months as well as their future
plans for civic action. In addition to formal workshops lead by civil
society development experts from Armenia they are participating in
an informal workshop called "Open Space", where the participants
determine the agenda and lead the discussions. The general theme of
the Open Space workshop is "Collaboration", in other words, in what
areas can the community groups increase collaboration and how?
The conference will conclude on 3 August with a summary of the Open
Space discussions by the participants starting at 9:30 AM. This
summary will be followed by closing remarks by USAID Democracy and
Governance Office Director, George Zarycky and the YCAP Chief of Party,
Nicholas Bruno.