Civilitas programs work in so many different directions, that the simplest way of explaining what we do is to say — we do what we can to strengthen civil society in Armenia. If that means helping a farmer stand on his feet so that he can engage in the decision-making that effects his life, then that’s what we do.
If it means helping a village to become vital and vibrant community (by supporting it economically or by enhancing its library and cultural resources), then that’s what we do.
We also work directly to improve the environment in which civil society organizations function. The Netherlands-supported site civil.am is a Civilitas-created tool directly aimed at increasing NGO effectiveness and expanding resources.
Donor strategies in Armenia, and how they have affected and can continue to affect development was the topic of the Civilitas Public Forum on Friday, July 16, at the Ani Hotel Ani Hall. Head of USAID, Dr. Cheema Jatinder, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Georgia, Mr. Heino van Houwelingen, and Honorary Consul of Norway and Finland in Armenia, Mr. Timothy Straight, were the guests. Salpi Ghazarian, Civilitas Director, moderated the program. The speakers and more than 250 guests discussed the problems of Armenia’s Civil Sector, the effectiveness of the projects suggested by the donors for 20 years and talked about the ways to make the efforts more visible and more effective.
While talking about the interests of donor countries who invest in civil societies in developing countries, and in the South Caucasus particularly, the Deputy Head of Mission of the Netherlands, Mr. Van Houwelingen noted that the reasons are both enlightened self-interest of the donors, and international solidarity.
“If you are from a small, trading nation, as is the Netherlands, we have learned that we are completely dependent on the outside world. And, over the centuries, we have fared very well by building relationships with the outside world,” Mr. Houwelingen stated, but added also, that for him personally, and or Dutch society, investing in civil societies in other countries is a demonstration of international solidarity.
The Honorary Consul of Norway and Finland in Armenia, Mr. Straight took it one step further saying that a stable, prosperous peaceful Southern Caucasus is definitely a benefit for Norway and Finland.
“So, by investing in civil society you contribute to growth. By contributing to growth, you contribute to peace,” he said.
Mrs. Ghazarian asked the head of the USAID mission in Armenia about how strategies are determined in donor organizations. Mrs. Cheema Jatinder explained that two years ago USAID decided to work on a country- wide mission strategy and it was a result of six months of work, and the product of meetings with representatives of NGOs, governments and donors.
“So, in that effort, we developed three areas of interest that we wanted, for the next three years, to emphasize. One was economic growth and diversification of the economy and private sector, the second was civil society and NGO involvement and participation, and the health and social sector,” she explained.
“We worked very closely with the World Bank and the IMF and other donors in areas where, if they are doing infrastructure or budget support, where we can tie in our technical support so the larger effort has a bigger impact rather than that of a specific project” Mrs. Jatinder continued.
Salpi Ghazarian then focused on the effectiveness of the programs implemented for 20 years.
“You know, in the office, we often laugh and say: OK, if there has been 20 years of support for free media and we don’t have free media, does that mean the programs have failed? How do you judge effectiveness, individual institutional effectiveness and strategic, decision-making effectiveness?”
Cheema Jatinder noted that the effectiveness of specific sectors can be judged differently. The effectiveness in the civil society sector, for example is hard to measure, because it is a very complex and difficult one to work with.
“It seems like we take two steps forward and one step backwards on freedom of press, on human rights issues, and they’re all open issues. But, on the other hand, I don’t want to get discouraged and say, ‘because there are so many problems, we dont want to do anything.’ I want to keep saying we want to do more, keep the agenda out there, keep pushing wherever we can. We find an entry point, and we make a change there,” Mrs. Jatinder concluded. Meanwhile she noted, that in the economic, health and social sector areas, the effectiveness is more visible.
Mr. Van Houwelingen commented on the media freedom example as an area where any success is hardly visible, and noted, that while talking about aid effectiveness, donors should be aware that their role is always limited. “And, it’s very striking often that when certain sectors in countries that receive aid are developing progressively, then donors boast it’s because of their help, but if they fail it’s because of the goverment, or it’s because of this and that. So, it’s always about a convergence of interests that has to take place.”
Mr. Straight suggested that there are areas where it is hardly possible to measure effectiveness in a short period of time. “How do you measure the effectiveness in an anti-domestic violence campaign or project? You can’t measure that. That takes generations to see that change or movement in a society. It’s not numbers, you can’t go out and quantify it in a couple of years. So, you have to keep plugging away. You have to keep doing these projects,” he said.
The discussion lasted for more than an hour, and the audience with a high representation of NGOs, asked questions and suggested their points of view on how to make the work of the donors and NGOs more effective.
In his closing remarks, Vartan Oskanian, President of the Board of the Civilitas Foundation, suggested that the donors focus on one or two important areas in Armenia, that can and will have obvious impact. His suggestion was that area could be media.
“Today we had a great discussion, a great many ideas were sounded, but our public will not hear about this, because national television will not cover it. Whoever goes to our site will read what we have discussed, but the public in general, about whom we’ve talked, and said that we need to engage them, they will not. The only way we can do that is if there is dissemination of information without any bias, without any restriction, without any censorship. So, one project which I think can make a real difference in Armenia is the broadcast media,” Mr. Oskanian recommended.