On July 3rd, 2020 ALDA and Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) signed a grant agreement within the framework of the “Citizens’ Voice and Actions on Local Development in Consolidated Communities in Armenia” project. Though ALDA couldn’t physically be in Yerevan for the ceremony, the Association was well represented by the lead partner of the project consortium in the person of Abraham Artashesyan,Deputy Chairman of the Communities Finance Officers Association (CFOA).
“COAF’s mission is to foster sustainable development in rural communities through the activation and utilization of resources. The development of tourism and hospitality allows for significant economic growth. There is a big bunch of natural and man-made opportunities in the Lori region, the literate and innovative emphasis of which will lead to unprecedented growth in the tourism sector”, stated COAF Managing Director Korioun Khatchadourian.
The Fund’s competitive and multi-field project is one of the two winning programmes out of the dozens of worthy applications for sub-grants that were received and will be geared towards fostering the growth of tourism and outdoor activities in the Lori region by maximising the resources of the COAF SMART Center and the Visitor Center by COAF.
“The experience of COAF in the sphere of tourism in the Lori region, with the components of its capacity-building, tourism development, and involvement of young people, is truly valuable for us. The opportunities and resources that COAF will invest in the grant program will enable us to achieve our goals in a faster and more efficient way” explained Mr Artashesyan.
The larger goal of the project is to enhance the capacity of communities of Armenia in designing and implementing people-centered and sustainable local development projects, with the first component of the partnership targeting the capacity-building of locals from four nearby communities in the fields of entrepreneurship and hospitality services; while the second component of the project focuses on raising awareness on existing tourism activities and services in the Lori Region through COAF’s Visitor Center, located at the crossroad connecting the Armenia-Georgia highway with the inter-community road leading right to the COAF SMART Center.
Due to the restrictions imposed by COVID-19, the implementation of the educational component will shift to spring 2021, but the acquisition of travel information materials and equipment is already underway. ALDA is excited for the project to keep evolving and grateful for this occasion to be more and more active in Armenian local communities!
“Citizens’ Voice and Actions on Local Development in Consolidated Communities in Armenia” is a 3-year project implemented by ALDA, CFOA and the Union of Communities of Armenia (UCA) with the support of the European Union.