Rachel Bass Visits Armenia
09 December 2024, Monday |
The Study Visit to Brussels for the partners and subgrantee CSOs of the “STRIVE” program as well as representatives of the private sector and local authorities, was held on November 23-30, 2024. The visit was hosted by NEF Belgium and was focused on CSO-led, multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral partnerships as a tool to foster inclusive and participatory cooperation to address societal challenges effectively.
During the study visit, participants met Belgian stakeholders involved in the delivery of humanitarian responses for refugees and asylum-seekers; learn about successful joint cooperation between civil society, private sector and local authorities; meet with CSOs that have successful models of social entrepreneurship; understand Belgian actors inclusion approaches (women, youth and PWDs in particular); make connections with Belgian/European stakeholders; further understand EU funding streams, especially those which the Armenian CSOs can directly access.
The participants highly appreciated the importance of this visit in terms of getting acquainted with organizations with diverse expertise, tools, and formats related to their fields and in terms of incorporating best practices into the civil society sector of Armenia in the future. It was also noteworthy that during the visit, ideas for further cooperation emerged between the participating organizations, which we hope will be successfully implemented upon their return to Armenia.
“STRIVE” project is co-funded by the European Union and implemented by NEF-Belgium (NEF) and four local partners: “Agate” Rights Defense Center for Women with Disabilities NGO, “Blejan” Ecological, Social, Business Support NGO, ''WINNET Goris'' Development Foundation and “YCCD” Youth Cooperation Center of Dilijan NGO.