“The Current Situation and Perspectives of State Regulation and Self-Regulation of Armenian Media” – December 14-16, 2012, Aghveran, Armenia, seminar organized by Yerevan Press Club under “Alternative Resources in Media” project, supported by USAID. The participants (40 in number) were members of the Media Ethics Observatory, heads, representatives of media outlets and journalistic organizations. Main issues discussed: the perspectives of online media self-regulation in Armenia; suggestions for amending the Code of Conduct of Media Representatives; new handbooks on journalism ethics, YPC TV program cycle, “Press Club”, dealing with issues of journalism ethics; development prospects of media self-regulatory system in Armenia; court practice on the implementation of the RA legislation on libel and insult; activities of the Media Ethics Observatory in 2012; experience of self-regulatory bodies in other countries.
“The Role of the EaP Civil Society Forum in Fostering Reform in the Fields of Human Rights and Social Dialogue” – November 2-4, 2012, Dilijan, Armenia, seminar, organized by Yerevan Press Club with the support of Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The participants (40 in number) were representatives of NGOs, joining the Armenian National Platform of Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, experts from Belarus and Georgia. Main issues discussed: situation of human rights in Armenia from the civil society’s perspective; the implementation of EaP CSF recommendations on human rights in Georgia; the role of social dialogue in democracy building and the expectations from the newly-established CSF Fifth Working Group on Social Dialogue; activities of the CSF Armenian National Platform and its future; the Fourth EaP Civil Society Forum, November 29-30, 2012, Stockholm.
“The Role of the EaP Civil Society Forum in Implementing Reforms in the Fields of Public Administration and Fight against Corruption” – July 6-8, 2012, Vanadzor, Armenia, seminar, organized by Yerevan Press Club with the support of Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The participants (35 in number) represented media, human rights, journalistic and other NGOs of Armenia, an expert from Ukraine. Main issues discussed: implementation of Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum’s recommendations in the field of fight against corruption; realization of EaP CSF recommendations on fight against corruption by the Armenian civil society; implementation of EaP programs towards the democratization of local self-government bodies of Armenia; goals and perspectives of the Association of Local Democracy Agencies (ALDA); projects of Eurasia Partnership Foundation in the field of fight against corruption; perspectives for strengthening ties between Armenian NGOs and EaP CSF.
“The Role of the EaP Civil Society Forum in Fostering Judiciary Reform and Monitoring of Democratization Processes” – June 8-10, 2012, Aghveran (Armenia), seminar, organized by Yerevan Press Club with the support of Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The participants (40 in number) represented media, human rights, journalistic and other NGOs of Armenia, experts from Ukraine and Georgia. Main issues discussed: European Integration Index for Eastern Partnership Countries in 2012; implementation of recommendations of the EaP Civil Society Forum on monitoring of democratic reforms in Armenia; perspectives for strengthening ties between EaP CSF and Armenian NGOs in the field of monitoring of democratization processes; civil society participation in judiciary reforms; the role of EaP CSF in fostering judiciary reforms in Armenia; perspectives for strengthening ties between EaP CSF and Armenian NGOs in the field of judiciary reforms.
“The Role of Media at the Current Stage of Armenia-Turkey Relations: Dividing Societies or Bringing Them Together” – June 4-5, 2012, Yerevan, round table, organized by Yerevan Press Club and Eurasia Partnership Foundation under the project “Support to Armenia-Turkey Rapprochement”, supported by USAID. The participants (50 in number) represented media, NGOs from Armenia and Turkey. Main issues discussed: current political context – the national elections cycle in Armenia, new trends in Turkish politics, and their implications for the bilateral relations; freedom of speech in Armenia and Turkey; results of monitoring the coverage of Armenia-Turkey relations by Armenian and Turkish media; perspectives of improving the media coverage on Armenia-Turkey thematic. June 4 award ceremony of Annual Journalistic Prize-2012.
“The Role of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum in the Fields of Visa Facilitation and Media Reforms” – May 26-28, 2012, Gyumri (Armenia), seminar, organized by Yerevan Press Club with the support of Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The participants (40 in number) represented NGOs, journalistic organizations of Armenia, experts from Belarus and Poland. Main issues discussed: implementation process of Civil Society Forum recommendations in the field of visa facilitation in the six EaP countries; realization of CSF recommendations in the field of visa facilitation from the perspective of Armenian civil society; perspectives for strengthening ties between EaP CSF and NGOs in the field of visa facilitation; implementation process of CSF recommendations in the field of media reforms in EaP countries; role of Armenian civil society in improving the media domain; perspectives for strengthening ties between EaP CSF and NGOs in the media domain.
“Dynamics of the Coverage of Armenian-Turkish Relations by Media of Two Countries” – April 6, 2012, Yerevan, round table, organized by Yerevan Press Club under the project of YPC and Eurasia Partnership Foundation “Support to Armenia-Turkey Rapprochement”, assisted by USAID. The participants (50 in number) represented NGO, media and journalistic organizations of Armenia. Main issues discussed: specifics of Armenian-Turkish relations coverage by the media of two countries; analysis of articles by Armenian and Turkish press.
“Coverage of Electoral Processes in Armenia” – March 31 – April 1, 2012, Aghveran, seminar, organized by Yerevan Press Club under “Alternative Resources in Media” project, supported by USAID. The participants (40 in number) represented political parties, media and journalistic organizations of Armenia. Main issues discussed: Armenian and international legislative regulation of covering electoral processes; National Commission on Television and Radio methodology on monitoring the ensuring by Armenian TV and radio companies of equal conditions for candidates and parties/blocs running in the elections to RA National Assembly; results of YPC monitoring the Armenian broadcast media ahead of parliamentary elections; international practice of introducing self-regulatory mechanisms and the ethics of media coverage of electoral processes; review of the complaints addressed to the Media Ethics Observatory.
“Accurate and Unbiased Information Exchange between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Mountainous Karabagh” – January 30-31, 2012, Tbilisi, seminar, organized by Yerevan Press Club and “Yeni Nesil” Journalist Union of Azerbaijan with the support of the US State Department. The participants (14 in number) represented media and journalistic organizations from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Mountainous Karabagh. Main issues discussed: situation in the negotiation process on political settlement of the Karabagh problem, the comparative analysis of the information field in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Mountainous Karabagh and the prospects of joint Armenian-Azerbaijani projects; analysis of the “cross monitorings”, conducted by YPC and “Yeni Nesil”; selection of topics for journalistic investigations; simulation on the web site for joint investigations and prospects for the use of other online resources; collection and classification of useful information resources for joint investigations; synchronization of professional standards and rules for joint investigations.
