A week after the eyewitness seminar in Georgia, the new Armenian eyewitnesses also gathered in Yerevan to prepare for their meetings with young people. Among them were the two protagonists of the newly produced eyewitness videos, Isabella Sargsyan and Lala Aslikyan, as well as prominent representatives of Georgia’s early post-Soviet civil society, such as Gevorg Ter-Gabrielyan and Inga Zarafyan. They were introduced to the structure of the meetings and essential methodological principles, with the experiences of regional coordinators Naira Yerkanyan and Karine Qochoyan providing key guidance.

The topics covered by the eyewitnesses ranged from the beginnings of civil society engagement at the end of the Soviet Union to activism for human rights and against torture—especially in the military—throughout the 1990s and even into the late 2000s, as well as the fight for cultural heritage.

Starting in May, our eyewitnesses will visit schools in Yerevan, Gyumri, and other regions of Armenia to share their experiences with students.

The training was conducted in cooperation with our partners from Hazarashen and with the kind support of the German Federal Foreign Office.