Civilitas Foundation

40.183701°N 44.515191°E / 40.183701; 44.515191The Civilitas Foundation (Armenian: Սիվիլիթաս հիմնադրամ) is an Armenian non-profit organization based in Yerevan,[1] and established in October 2008 by Armenia's former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vartan Oskanian.[2][3][4] It is a development agency and think tank currently directed by Apo Boghigian[3] that works to strengthen civil society, promote democracy, economic development and education in Armenia, and facilitate dialogue between Armenia and the international community on a number of pertinent political issues. In doing so, Civilitas has strengthened the ties between Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora.

Civilitas Foundation
FounderVartan Oskanian
Founded atArmenia
TypeNonprofit
Legal statusfoundation
HeadquartersOne Northern Avenue, Suite 30, Yerevan, Armenia
Location
  • Armenia
Official language
Armenian, English
Websitecivilitasfoundation.org

The name was derived from the Latin word Civilitas.[5][6]

Look up Civilitas in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

CivilNet Media

CivilNet, an online bilingual media outlet of the Civilitas Foundation, was launched by Oskanian on September 21, 2011.[3][4] Through CivilNet, the foundation produces content in Armenian and English like interviews, articles and weekly wrap-up videos, which focus on fundamental human rights, Armenian democracy, regional peace and the Diaspora,[2][7] as well as political, economic, social and cultural events in Turkey that are directly or indirectly related to Armenia-Turkey relations, also providing contextual background to the topics.[8]

CivilNet produced three films about the 1918 Treaty of Batum, the 1920 Treaty of Alexandropol, and the 1921 Treaty of Moscow and Treaty of Kars respectively.[8]

CivilNet also produced the 2017 documentary film Survival Songs: From West to East, an ethnographic collage showcasing stories and folk music of various Armenian communities formed after the emigrations from Western to Eastern Armenia. Its screening on November 13 at the Armenian Embassy in Russia was organized by the initiative of Barev Cultural Club in Moscow.[9]

The Council on International Relations

The Civilitas Council on International Relations advocates peace and stability in the Caucasus through multifaceted dialogue and open discourse. It hosts monthly discussion forums which inform Armenia's opinion and policymaking process and the international academic, political and media communities about Armenia's foreign and domestic policy choices, options and actions in the context of Armenia's national security challenges. Through public and private discussions, research and publications, the Council promotes the Armenian perspective internationally and domestically.[5][6][10][11]

Since its establishment, the Council has published annual reports on the state of Armenia up to 2013,[12] providing an in-depth analysis of Armenia's current political standing. Their first ever report, Armenia in 2008: Crisis and Opportunity, was published in 2008.[13][14]

The Council on International Relations organized the Neighbors About Each Other project with support from USAID, Eurasia Partnership Foundation and the Hrant Dink Foundation. The project offered translations of articles from both the Turkish and Armenian press. Turkish articles about Armenia and Armenians were translated into the Armenian language and made available to Armenian publications, while Armenian articles about Turkey and the Turkish people were translated into the Turkish language and made available to Turkish publications. All articles were also translated into English for the benefit of the international community. The various translations were archived on the project's now-defunct website.[15]

Democracy and Development

The Democracy and Development Initiative of the Civilitas Foundation supports and promotes democratization in Armenia. Currently the initiative is focusing on rural development and education projects.[5][6][11][16][17]

Rural Economic Facilitation Program

The Civilitas Foundation initiates, executes and backs projects which facilitate, support sustainable, comprehensive and even development in Armenia's villages, enabling villagers to live a self-reliant, dignified life in Armenia's border areas.[18] From small social and economic undertakings to larger infrastructure projects, the Foundation works with donors and implementers to assure an inclusive, comprehensive approach.[11]

The Rural Economic Facilitation Program's main initiative is the Dairy Production Assistance Program, which sells cows and milking machines to Armenian farmers on a microfinance loan basis, with 0% interest rate. The farmers pay back in full the price of the cow or milking machine within ten months, and that money is used to buy a new one for another farmer, thereby increasing the number of beneficiaries.[19][20][21]

Libraries as Centers of Civil Society

The Libraries as Centers of Civil Society project supports and strengthens public libraries in a number of rural and urban communities throughout Armenia, in order to transform them into true centers of community life providing a number of services to the population. With funds from the US Embassy, the Civilitas Foundation is currently rebuilding 10 libraries in the Armenian provinces and stocking them with new books in both Armenian and English.[22][23][24][25][26]

Civilitas Generation Center

The Civilitas Generation Center was designed to support new approaches and solutions to Armenia's geographic, economic and experiential limitations. In keeping with its mission, the Generation Center has developed a database of existing NGOs in Armenia in the now-defunct website Civil.am,[27] which was updated with the aid of participating NGOs. The database served to introduce projects to people, help NGOs identify alternative sources of support, and link new initiatives with existing experience.[28]

References
  1. "Contacts". Civilitas Foundation. Archived from the original on 2015-11-07. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  2. "About Us". CivilNet. Archived from the original on 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  3. "Boghigian Named Director of Civilitas/CivilNet". Asbarez. 5 August 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-08-07. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  4. "THE POLITICAL CONTEXT". Civilitas Foundation. 2 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  5. "WHO WE ARE". Civilitas Foundation. Archived from the original on 2015-11-07. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  6. "Mission". Civilitas Foundation. 11 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2021-03-26. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  7. "Increasing the role of the citizen by raising legal awareness". Civilitas Foundation. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  8. "The Civilitas Foundation". Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process. Archived from the original on 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  9. "CivilNet Documentary Screening in Moscow". Civilitas Foundation. 16 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2018-02-11. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  10. "Think Tank Young Professional Development Program For MA and PhD Graduates" (PDF). Kosovar Centre for Security Studies. Open Society Foundations. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-09-11. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  11. "Economic Facilitation". Civilitas Foundation. 13 September 2008. Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  12. "Publications". Civilitas Foundation. Archived from the original on 2015-11-05. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  13. "Armenia in 2008: Crisis and Opportunity". Civilitas Foundation. 27 December 2008. Archived from the original on 2017-12-18. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  14. Armenia in 2008: Crisis and Opportunity (PDF). Yerevan, Armenia: Civilitas Foundation. 2008. ISBN 978-99941-2-210-3. OCLC 492101366.
  15. "NEIGHBORS ABOUT EACH OTHER". Neighbors About Each Other. Archived from the original on 11 September 2011.
  16. "Democracy and Development". Civilitas Foundation. Archived from the original on 2015-11-05. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  17. Armenia in 2009: Promise and Reality. Yerevan, Armenia: Civilitas Foundation. 2009. p. 4. ISBN 978-99941-2-324-7. OCLC 517718140.
  18. "Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation at Civilitas". Civilitas Foundation. 18 October 2008. Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  19. "Economic Support to Dairy Farmers". Civilitas Foundation. 17 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  20. "Visitors at Civilitas". Civilitas Foundation. 26 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  21. "Success Breeds Success". Civilitas Foundation. 9 November 2009. Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  22. "Libraries: real, accessible, and free centers of civil society". Civilitas Foundation. 4 February 2010. Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  23. Hakobyan, Tatul (9 February 2010). "Libraries: real, accessible, and free centers of civil society". Armenia Diaspora. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012.
  24. "Rebuilding the Libraries of Armenia, One Step at a Time". Civilitas Foundation. 18 May 2010. Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  25. "One Library at a Time: Supporting Communities, Opening Minds". Civilitas Foundation. 11 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  26. "Armenian libraries embrace the digital age to expand community outreach". Civilitas Foundation. 21 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  27. "Home". Civil.am. Archived from the original on 6 March 2015.
  28. Hakobyan, Tatul (4 October 2008). "Civilitas Foundation opens in Yerevan". The Armenian Reporter. Yerevan. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
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