Workshop participants were brought together through a conference to discuss their initiatives.
The Caucasus Institute, in partnership with the Max Planck Foundation, held the concluding conference of the project ‘Popular Participation in Legislation in Armenia’, which is generously funded by the German Foreign Office, on 26 November 2025 in the capital, Yerevan.
Earlier workshops as part of this project discussed strategies for civil society to engage more effectively in policy-making and legislative processes and provided an opportunity for participants to collaborate on crafting draft proposals or advocacy plans. The concluding conference brought together workshop participants who, following the workshops, continued to work on their proposals. Approximately 20 participants from different regions of Armenia presented eight initiatives covering a wide range of topics including waste management, public participation mechanisms, mental health, housing, and urban planning.
Opportunities were provided for participants to receive feedback on their proposals from experts in attendance including a member of parliament, officials from the Department of Participatory and Open Governance Issues within the Office of the Prime Minister, advisors within the Ministry of Education, and local governance experts. Participants also provided feedback to one another leading to a lively discussion.
The concluding conference highlighted the passion and motivation of Armenian civil society and, following the project, it is hoped the participants’ initiatives will be refined and implemented.