From 16 to 18 July 2019, a Council of Europe delegation composed of representatives of the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ), the Advisory Council on Youth (CCJ), the European Youth Forum (YFJ), a youth policy expert/rapporteur and the head of the Council of Europe Youth Policy Division visited Armenia (Yerevan and Gyumri) to advise the authorities on how to further develop and implement the national youth strategy.
The delegation met several key stakeholders and representatives of organisations involved in the national youth strategy. It also met some high-level representatives, including: Gevorg Loretsyan (Deputy Minister responsible for youth matters at the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic Armenia); Arman Udumyan (Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia); Samvel Balasanyan (mayor of the city of Gyumri); Tigran Petrosyan (governor of the Shirak province). A field visit was also organised to the Youth Initiative Centre of Gyumri and the Gyumri Open Youth Centre.
The delegation provided practical advice to the national authorities of Armenia on the revision of the national youth strategy, in line with the Council of Europe's standards in the field of youth.
This advisory mission is part of the package of intergovernmental assistance measures to member States in the field of youth, carried out under the aegis of the CDEJ. This mission was organised at a crucial juncture in the national political context, which might entail significant changes in the national youth policy of Armenia. The main findings and recommendations of the advisory mission will be summarised in a report to be submitted shortly to the national authorities.
