Improving the Level of the Armenian Public Awareness on International and Regional Issues through Social Networks and Media – November 24-26, 2017, Aghveran, Armenia, seminar organized by Yerevan Press Club with the support of Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The participants (24 in number) were representatives of expert community, NGOs, Media of Armenia and diplomatic missions. Main issues discussed: Armenian media coverage and reaction of Armenian segment of social networks in regard to the most pressing international issues; elections in EU countries, post-election coalition formation in Germany; global geopolitical developments and security challenges; “The dominants are: We and Austria”. The projection of regional and international processes in contemporary Armenian literature; EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement as new phase of bilateral relations; significance of the EaP CSF 9th Annual Assembly in cooperation deepening process in the framework of the EaP.
Political Processes in the Middle East – November 21, 2017, Yerevan, seminar organized by Yerevan Press Club and Friedrich Ebert Foundation in the framework of the project “Improving the Level of Armenian Public Awareness on International and Regional Issues through Social Networks and Media”. The participants (50 in number) were representatives of expert community, NGOs, media of Armenia and diplomatic missions. Main issues discussed: Saudi Arabia-Iran-Lebanon: links with global developments and domestic political developments in these countries; Armenian-Israeli relations in the changing Middle East.
Improving the Level of the Armenian Public Awareness on International and Regional Issues through Social Networks and Media – October 18-20, 2017, Aghveran, Armenia, seminar organized by Yerevan Press Club with the support of Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The participants (23 in number) were representatives of expert community, NGOs and media of Armenia. Main issues discussed: seeking resolution to Karabagh conflict; domestic and international developments in Russia ahead of the 2018 elections: possible scenarios; right to self-determination and Catalonia referendum on independence; Armenia in the foreign policy mosaic of Georgia 2017; developments in Iraqi Kurdistan and their coverage by Armenian media; Armenian media coverage and reaction of Armenian segment of social networks in regard to the most pressing international issues.
September 24 Elections in the Federal Republic of Germany and Their Impact on Geopolitical Developments – September 27, 2017, Yerevan, seminar organized by Yerevan Press Club and Friedrich Ebert Foundation in the framework of the project “Improving the Level of Armenian Public Awareness on International and Regional Issues through Social Networks and Media”. The participants (50 in number) were representatives of Armenian NGOs, media and diplomatic missions.
Local Self-Governance Annual Index of Armenia – September 27, 2017, Yerevan, press conference organized by Yerevan Press Club in the frames of “Civic Engagement in Local Governance” project implemented by YPC in partnership with Communities Finance Officers Association and supported by USAID. The participants (20 in number) listed representatives of NGOs and media of Armenia. At the press conference the results of the Index for 2015 and 2016 were presented. (ՀՀ Տեղական ինքնակառավարման տարեկան ինդեքս-2015-2016թթ.).
Meeting of Heads of Media that Joined the Self-Regulation Initiative and Signed the Code of Ethics of Armenian Media and Journalists – June 23-25, 2017, Aghveran, Armenia. The event was organized by Yerevan Press Club in the frames of “Media for Informed Civic Engagement” project implemented by YPC in partnership with the Media Initiatives Center and supported by USAID. The participants (26 in number) included heads, representatives of media and NGOs who joined the self-regulation initiative, members of Media Ethics Observatory (MEO). Main issues discussed: MEO activities of 2017; ethical issues during the coverage of elections; personal data protection in Armenian media; “hybrid”/information wars: new challenges for professional ethics; “deconstruction” of misinformation as a means to promote quality journalism; organizational issues regarding the self-regulation initiative and MEO.
Amendments to the RA Law “On Administrative-Territorial Division of the Republic of Armenia” and their Coverage by the Media – June 11-13, 2017, Aghveran, Armenia, seminar organized by Yerevan Press Club in the frames of “Civic Engagement in Local Governance” project implemented by YPC in partnership with Communities Finance Officers Association and supported by USAID. The participants (23 in number) listed representatives of Armenian state structures, NGOs and media. Main issues discussed: amendments to the RA Law “On Administrative-Territorial Division of the Republic of Armenia”; coverage of local self-government bodies’ activities as a means of raising civil society awareness; experience of cooperation between local self-government bodies and media; “Press Club” TV program cycle, aired in the framework of “Civic Engagement in Local Governance” project (review of the previous TV season); second stage of community enlargement – advantages and disadvantages; coverage of the community enlargement process by the media.
Improving the Level of the Armenian Public Awareness on International and Regional Issues through Social Networks and Media – June 9-11, 2017, Aghveran, Armenia, seminar organized by Yerevan Press Club with the support of Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The participants (21 in number) were representatives of expert community, NGOs and media of Armenia. Main issues discussed: problems of free movement of Armenians in the context of global and regional migration processes; prospects of the European Union and Eastern Partnership in the context of geopolitical developments; knots of geopolitical contradictions and their impact on Armenia; Ukraine Reanimation Package of Reforms and the possibility of its implementation in Armenia; Eurasian civilizational identity – realities and illusions; addressing important international developments in Armenian media and local segment of social networks.
Improving the Level of the Armenian Public Awareness on International and Regional Issues through Social Networks and Media – June 5, 2017, Yerevan, seminar organized by Yerevan Press Club and Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The participants (50 in number) were representatives of Armenian expert community, NGOs and media. Main issues discussed: post-election Iran: possible impact of the country’s internal developments on the region and the coverage of the situation in Iran by Armenian media; towards a more complicated geopolitical agenda – challenges for the region and Armenia.
The Silk Road Economic Belt: Considering Security Implications and EU-China Cooperation Prospects – May 23, 2017, Yerevan, seminar organized by Yerevan Press Club and Friedrich Ebert Foundation in the framework of the project “Improving the Level of Armenian Public Awareness on International and Regional Issues through Social Networks and Media”. The participants (50 in number) were representatives of Armenian expert community, NGOs and media, diplomatic missions and international organizations.
Improving the Level of the Armenian Public Awareness on International and Regional Issues through Social Networks and Media – May 19-21, 2017, Aghveran, Armenia, seminar organized by Yerevan Press Club with the support of Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The participants (27 in number) were representatives of state structures, expert community, NGOs and media of Armenia. Main issues discussed: presidential elections in France, parallels with Armenian elections; post-election Turkey: possible impact of the country’s internal developments on the region and consequences for Armenia; initialling of EU-Armenia agreement, similarities and differences between current and the previously negotiated but not signed document; contradictions among geopolitical centers as global security challenge, on the example of the developments in North Korea and Syria; addressing important international developments in Armenian media and local segment of social networks.
Coverage of Elections to RA National Assembly in 2017 by Armenian Media – April 14, 2017, Yerevan, conference organized by Yerevan Press Club within the framework of the project “Promoting Ethical Norms in Media Coverage of RA Parliamentary Elections 2017 by Broadcast Media of Armenia”, supported by the Council of Europe and European Union Programmatic Cooperation Framework Regional Project entitled “Promote Professional and Responsible Journalism by Supporting Regional Network of Self-Regulatory Bodies”. The participants (30 in number) were representatives of National Commission on Television and Radio, Media Ethics Observatory, NGOs and media of Armenia, international structures. Main issues discussed: presentation of the Final Report on Monitoring of Armenian Broadcast Media Coverage of Elections to RA National Assembly on April 2, 2017; violations of ethical norms in the coverage of elections (on the example of video materials of the monitoring); conditions for professional activities of journalists covering elections; specifics of the 2017 parliamentary elections in online media and social networks.
Presentation of YPC Second Interim Report on Monitoring of Armenian Broadcast Media Coverage of Elections to RA National Assembly in 2017 – April 4, 2017, Yerevan, briefing organized by Yerevan Press Club within the framework of the project “Promoting Ethical Norms in Media Coverage of RA Parliamentary Elections 2017 by Broadcast Media of Armenia”, supported by the Council of Europe and European Union Programmatic Cooperation Framework Regional Project entitled “Promote Professional and Responsible Journalism by Supporting Regional Network of Self-Regulatory Bodies”. Main issues discussed: interim results of the monitoring on Armenian broadcast media coverage of parliamentary elections during the official pre-election promotion (March 5-31, 2017). The briefing was also live-streamed.
Coverage of Elections to RA National Assembly in 2017 by Armenian Broadcast Media – March 29, 2017, Yerevan, conference organized by Yerevan Press Club within the framework of the project “Promoting Ethical Norms in Media Coverage of RA Parliamentary Elections 2017 by Broadcast Media of Armenia”, supported by the Council of Europe and European Union Programmatic Cooperation Framework Regional Project entitled “Promote Professional and Responsible Journalism by Supporting Regional Network of Self-Regulatory Bodies”. The participants (60 in number) were representatives of parties/blocs running in the parliamentary elections, National Commission on Television and Radio, Media Ethics Observatory, NGOs and media of Armenia, international structures. Main issues discussed: presentation of the interim results of the YPC monitoring on Armenian broadcast media coverage of the 2017 elections to the RA National Assembly; ethical aspects of elections’ coverage (on the example of video materials of the monitoring); comments of the representatives of the parties/blocs on the coverage of pre-election promotion; comments of the National Commission on Television and Radio on the media coverage of electoral campaign.
Presentation of YPC First Interim Report on Monitoring of Armenian Broadcast Media Coverage of Elections to RA National Assembly in 2017 – March 27, 2017, Yerevan, briefing organized by Yerevan Press Club within the framework of the project “Promoting Ethical Norms in Media Coverage of RA Parliamentary Elections 2017 by Broadcast Media of Armenia”, supported by the Council of Europe and European Union Programmatic Cooperation Framework Regional Project entitled “Promote Professional and Responsible Journalism by Supporting Regional Network of Self-Regulatory Bodies”. Main issues discussed: interim results of the monitoring on Armenian broadcast media coverage of parliamentary elections ahead of the official pre-election promotion (February 15 – March 4, 2017) and during the first two weeks of the pre-election promotion (March 5-18, 2017).
Problems of LSG Sphere in the Target of Coverage of Parliamentary Elections Campaign – February 24-26, 2017, Aghveran, Armenia, seminar organized by Yerevan Press Club in the frames of “Civic Engagement in Local Governance” project implemented by YPC in partnership with Communities Finance Officers Association and supported by USAID. The participants (46 in number) listed representatives of political parties, NGOs and media of Armenia. Main issues discussed: current state of the reform of local self-government sphere and the importance of touching upon that topic in the parliamentary elections campaign; points regarding the LSG sphere in the electoral programme of “Armenian Renaissance” party; cooperation of Councils of Elders and journalists during the pre-election promotion; peculiarities of voting by territorial lists of the parties/blocs and coverage of elections by local media; preliminary results of YPC monitoring on the coverage of parliamentary elections; points regarding the LSG sphere in the electoral programme of “Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanian” bloc.
How to Arouse Interest Among the Public Towards Elections: Public Debates with the Participation of Residents and Candidates – February 22-23, 2017, Gyumri, and February 24-26, 2017, Vanadzor, Armenia, trainings, organized by Democratic Society East, Poland, in partnership with Yerevan Press Club in the frames of “The Role of Local Independent Media of Armenia in the Electoral Process” project, co-financed by Polish-American Freedom Foundation within the RITA – “Region in Transition” program, administrated by “Education for Democracy” Foundation. The participants (12 in number in each event) were representatives of Armenian media and experts from Poland. Main issues discussed: Polish experience of the coverage of pre-election promotion; organization and conduct of pre-election debates – principles, ideas, scenarios, etc. Materials (in Armenian) on the conduct of public debates.
