One page from our partnership with UNFPA

This year in September it will be 5 years since Armenia Round Table Foundation has been a member of the Europe and Central Asia Faith-based organizations and UNFPA Partnership Network on Population and Development. Currently the Partnership unites in total more than 40 UNFPA country offices and faith-based organizations and institutions from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom.

Back in 2009 the ART together with a partner faith-based organization from Belarus approached respective UNFPA country offices to organize a regional consultation of faith-based organizations and UNFPA in Europe and Central Asia following the example of other regions where UNFPA cooperates with FBOs. The resulting Minsk Forum hosted by UNFPA Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (UNFPA EECA RO) set up the current partnership framework that strives to contribute to advancement of population well-being and development of the region through enhanced interfaith and regional collaboration around the issues of family well-being and HIV/AIDS.

Since 2010 Armenia Round Table Foundation together with UNFPA has been co-chairing the Network Steering Committee and hosting the Network Secretariat responsible for mobilization of Network activities. Among many initiatives organized within the framework of the Network the regional Newsletter and the electronic resource centre are noteworthy in terms of ensuring enhanced exchange of experience and information among the Network members.

The ART has a solid record of partnership with UNFPA at the country level in the area of family well-being, including issues of International Conference on Population and Development, domestic violence, trafficking, diakonia and etc. In late 2012 the ART with the support of the UNFPA Armenia and UNFPA EECA RO hosted a regional conference “Education on Diakonia” where the Network partners from Belarus, Russia and Kyrgyzstan were among the 40 representatives of faith-based organizations, international and civil society institutions and academia gathered to explore possibilities for strengthening social ministry of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Regionally opportunities are explored for organization of joint regional projects that would promote practical cooperation between Network members. In 2014 an important step has been done by the ART, the UNFPA Regional Office, UNFPA country offices and faith-based organizations from 3 other countries to push forward this process.