On 29 November-1 December, education experts responsible for reviewing and revising new educational standards, criteria and curricula for the primary and secondary education in Armenia gathered for a three-day training to discuss the principles of gender mainstreaming in education.

Through participatory training methods, the participants reflected critically and discussed the concepts of gender and gender equality in educational settings, education as a social institution, gender mainstreaming in educational materials and interaction between teachers and students. The training facilitators and gender experts Ani Kojoyan and Katerina Hodicka provided recommendations to the training participants on how to adopt and apply gender-sensitive education and communication, including the Council of Europe standards on gender equality in education.

“I had some understanding of the gender issues in our society in general, but I had no idea how I, as an educator, could become a motor for change”, Mariam Petrosyan, one of the participants, said at the end of the training.

The training was organised in the framework of the Council of Europe project “The Path towards Armenia's Ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence”.