Recently, courses on adequate organization of community budgeting and related topics were held in Noyemberyan, Ijevan, Metsamor, and Armavir communities in conjunction with the Together for Social Communities program. Throughout training, participants discussed community budgeting processes and the possibility of organizing budget monitoring programs.

The course was conducted by Mira Antonyan, president of the Armenian Association of Social Workers, and Tigran Petrosayan, a specialist in the protection of interests. The latter mentioned that the adequate use of specialized and efficient budgeting significantly reduces unjustified waste of community resources, as well as the negative consequences that come with them. During the aforementioned processes, it is crucial to involve the population of the community and to also have a team which fully understands the community’s situation, such as previously established intersectoral networks.

The project is implemented by Hilfswerk International (HWI), Armenian Association of Social Workers (AASW), Education and Cooperation for Civil Society NGO, GUM NGO, P&T NGO (P&T), and Family and Community Charity NGO (F&C). The project in funded by the European Union and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the operational unit of Austria’s development cooperation.