In August 2020, the Caucasus Institute conducted a pilot study of the centers of two consolidated border communities in southern Armenia, Areni and Sisian commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Armenia. The purpose of the study was to identify ways to address the main factors of vulnerability and strengthen the resilience of these two communities in the post-COVID reality.
A team of five researchers visited the village of Areni (August 11–12) and the town of Sisian (August 13–14). During their visits, the researchers held meetings, conducted interviews and focus group discussions, and visited various sites in both locations. Based on the findings of the fieldwork and desk research, the team prepared community mapping reports for both communities.
ACTION PLANS
On August 28 and September 1, the Caucasus Institute organized foresight sessions in Yerevan to develop future scenarios for both communities. The sessions focused on identifying the skills and capacities needed while taking into account the communities’ needs. Experts from various fields participated, including agriculture, business, culture, education, tourism, information technology, architecture, innovation, and others.
To validate the results of the foresight sessions and the preliminary action plans, the Caucasus Institute research team returned to Sisian on September 21–23 and to Areni on September 23–25. The team gave presentations and held meetings with stakeholders at various levels. All meetings received positive feedback. Local stakeholders expressed their willingness to contribute to the implementation of the proposed action plans and suggested expanding them to include additional sectors and areas of activity.