Simplified procedures and reduced waiting times, modern infrastructure and equipment, and improved security – these are only a few of the many advantages that the new border crossing point (BCP) in Bagratashen will provide to ordinary citizens of Armenia travelling from Armenia to Georgia. H.E. Serzh Sargsyan,...

Yerevan, 27 January 2017 – Today, UNDP/Kolba Innovations Lab held a Public Innovation Award Ceremony, which concluded the Public Sector Innovation Week (#PSIWeek), organized annually as part of the “Innovation for Development” (#Inno4dev) project. The project is funded by the European Union and implemented by...

Community Reform in Armenia The urban and rural communities of Armenia are currently experiencing challenging times. This is because the landmark community consolidation reform is in full swing. By 2018, the number of recognised communities in Armenia will go down from 915 to a just a bit over 300. As with any...

No matter where you live, reforming how the public sector operates is a difficult task. How do we ensure that public services are designed to be as effective and accessible as possible? How do we make government agile and responsive in the face of black swans and wicked challenges? How do we develop a...

YEREVAN, October 20, 2016 - Armenia hosted a groundbreaking international conference today, themed “A World without Barriers,” dedicated to the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) that brought together an impressive list of high level partners, marking commitment...

"Actually, they are the chiefs of the greenhouse", Marietta laughs showing her daughters of 11 and 12, who run along the high tunnels of pepper and tomatoes while demonstrating how they do artificial pollination in the greenhouse. Marietta moved to Tavush at the age of seven. Back in 1989, the village of Ptghavan...

On 6 October 2016 the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Impact Hub organised a Social Good Summit in Geneva – a one-day event to promote social entrepreneurship and impact investment for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Representatives of financial institutions,...

People with disabilities are more likely to experience social isolation, which may have a detrimental impact on their physical, social and mental wellbeing. One of the fields where people with disabilities experience hardship and exclusion is the labor market. Despite the stereotypes in Armenia, most people with disabilities...

Last month’s “Healthcare Heroes”  was our fifth innovation camp in five years. For the uninitiated, social innovation camps are intended as a space for using tech to solve social challenges. These two-day events help to crowdsource ideas, especially from those citizens (young women and men, people with disabilities,...

Tavush, 06 September 2016 – For the past year and a half, residents of 16 bordering communities of Tavush region, working together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Armenia, have been busy assessing the needs of their communities and  developing community plans. The plans address a range...