Americans for Artsakh
c/o NKR Office
1334 G St, NW
Suite 200
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 223-3440
Americans for Artsakh Expands Government Public Relations Activities in
Stepanakert
As part of its continuing series of training programs, Americans for
Artsakh recently completed its fourth training session for government
officials in Artsakh. Dr. Paul Dezendorf, who has become instrumental
to AFA in multiple areas, conducted a course on government public
relations that is a continuation of an introductory course he began last
August. In addition, Dr. Dezendorf met with a wide range of government
officials and members of the academic community to assist in the
production of AFA’s long-term training plans and "brand identity"
creation for the country.
As in previous sessions, the course was held at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs in Stepanakert, and class participants included 12 staff members
from the Ministry, two from the Office of the President, two from the
National Assembly staff, and two from the Artsakh Information Office.
It was sponsored by the Armenian General Benevolent Union, and special
assistance was provided by Karen Kostandyan, AFA’s Liaison in
Stepanakert and staff member at the Ministry.
During his training sessions, Dr. Dezendorf expanded upon material he
presented to the group last summer. The course covered such areas as
the history of government public relations and the recent rise in
competitive identity strategies, and models of countries that have been
particularly successful in this area were studied. Towards the end, the
participants worked together to begin formulating national identity
models for Artsakh. Considering how Artsakh’s international reputation
has been affected by the conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan, it is
critical to the country’s growth that it re-establish its image
globally.
Aside from his teaching, Dr. Dezendorf met with representatives of four
other ministries and various government offices in order to solidify and
refine AFA’s long-term training plans. AFA has been working on creating
a comprehensive strategy for government training courses, based on needs
assessments conducted over the last two years, as well as models of
training programs used in other countries.
Dr. Dezendorf held meetings at the Ministries of the Economy, the
Environment, Education, and Health, in order to establish mechanisms to
facilitate additional training opportunities. Following the meetings,
Ministry staff were appointed to serve as representatives of their
respective offices for dedicated sessions. These representatives will
serve as temporary staff members for AFA and will help with logistical
and organizational matters.
While in Stepanakert, Dr. Dezendorf met with the rectors of Artsakh
State University and Mesrob Mashtots University to collect information
in preparation for future academic exchanges that will be hosted by AFA.
Dr. Dezendorf also spent time in Yerevan and met with a number of
prominent academics there, as well, to help strengthen ties between
Armenia and Artsakh.
Arshak Balayan, AFA’s Liaison in Yerevan, assisted in coordinating many
of the university meetings and providing consultation. "[Dr. Dezendorf]
made great progress in helping to plan academic programs for Artsakh,"
said Balayan. "This will be tremendously valuable to the professors and
students there." AFA plans to begin these exchanges this fall.
Americans for Artsakh (AFA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
organization established to preserve freedom, strengthen democracy,
foster economic development, protect the cultural identity, and promote
the heritage of the people of Artsakh.
From: Baghdasarian