ArmInfo.Tomorrow the first conference of The FUTURE ARMENIAN initiative in the format of the Civil Assembly will start its work in Yerevan.
As Artak Apitonyan, Executive Director of The FUTURE ARMENIAN Development Fund, said at a press conference on March 9, the forum will bring together 200 participants from Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora. He also noted that 7 out of 10 participants from Artsakh will not be able to come to Armenia and take part in the forum for well-known reasons - due to the blockade. According to him, one of the co- founders of the initiative - Ruben Vardanyan (also in Artsakh - ed. note) will not be able to accept the form in the works.
"The forum will consider 3 out of 15 goals that have been earned since the creation of the initiative in 2021," Apitonyan said, adding that tomorrow the public discussion stage, which was preceded by a huge expert work, will start.
In turn, businessman, philanthropist, founder of Solaron, co-founder of the Armenian Foundation for Science and Technology (FAST), co-founder of The FUTURE ARMENIAN initiative Artur Alaverdyan noted that more than 100,000 people share their views and are ready to contribute to the implementation of the 15 goals developed by the initiative to achieve sustainable development of Armenia. He added that the strategy was developed for a 20-year period.
"The three strategic positions of our strategy are as follows: catalysing the implementation of the 15 goals, building infrastructure and culture for free dialogue and decision-making, engaging third parties to implement our projects. We hope that as a result of our forum, a number of solutions will be found that will ways of implementation," he said, urging partners to join their initiative.
Meanwhile, founder of Mlinda and The Good Investors organizations, co-founder of The FUTURE ARMENIAN initiative Richard Azarnia stated that Armenia is in a serious crisis today. According to him, the issue cannot be resolved by elections alone, nor can it be taken out of the difficult situation in which the country finds itself.
According to him, representatives of the scientific and business circles from Armenia and the Diaspora should join their efforts to achieve this goal, and work side by side to solve the problems existing in the country. As an illustrative example, he cited the protests of the "yellow vests" in France, when the French leader Emmanuel Macron said that elections alone cannot solve the problems that have arisen, and systematic work is needed.
The FUTURE ARMENIAN is a public initiative created by private individuals both in Armenia and around the world, which has been able to attract over 100,000 contributors from 108 countries. In these times of great uncertainty and pressing challenges, the initiative aims to promote dialogue with the wider community on the 15 goals developed by the initiative. As a result of the discussions, it is planned to adopt a package of recommendations to achieve these goals and solve the problems facing the Armenian people.