A Series of Youth Forums in border regions of Armenia: Next Stop – Tavush
On August 26, the Caucasus Institute (Yerevan) and the Max Planck Foundation held another youth forum, this time in Ijevan, the capital of Armenia’s Tavush region, which borders Azerbaijan. The forum brought together young people from different communities to discuss the current state of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process and the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey, along with the related challenges and prospects these processes present.
The event forms part of an ongoing series of youth forums organized jointly by the Caucasus Institute and the Max Planck Foundation, aimed at fostering dialogue among young people in Armenia’s border regions on key issues affecting the country’s peace and security landscape.
Participants reflected on where the two processes currently stand, what further steps could be taken, and what repercussions they might have for border communities. Security expert Sergei Minasyan and political expert Alexander Iskandaryan opened the forum with key analyses of recent developments, outlining risks, opportunities, and potential scenarios. This introduction prepared participants for the group brainstorming session that followed.
During the interactive part of the forum, participants brainstormed their own perspectives on next steps within the peace process and normalization, focusing on border opening and management, movement of goods and people, diplomatic relations, and cross-border trade. Each group developed its own vision of peace based on these pillars, presented it to the others, and engaged in debate over differing views.
The forum created a safe space for young people in Tavush to speak openly — voicing pressing and sometimes difficult questions, and sharing their own views on the peace process and normalization in a candid and open environment.
The youth forum was held in the framework of the project Youth’s Critical Perspective on the Peace Process, implemented by the Caucasus Institute in cooperation with the Max Planck Foundation. The project is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.