Register Now: The Armenia Exchange, September 19-26 (In-Person)

The Armenia Exchange September 19-26, 2021, is an effort by the non-partisan, non-profit Exchange Foundation to promote a deeper understanding of Armenia as well as peacebuilding and security in the region. As such, the seven day, in-person conference will provide participants with an opportunity to meet, listen and engage leading social, political and economic actors from across the spectrum in Armenia, in both the capital Yerevan as well as for at least two days in the province of Syunik.

For more information or to apply, visit: https://www.globalpoliticalexchange.org/armenia

Our first Armenia Exchange will be held over seven days in Armenia and will open with an orientation briefing at 8pm on Sunday, September 19, at the conference hotel venue in Yerevan. After five days of meetings in and around Yerevan (including several outside of the conference hotel), on Friday, September 24, we will travel by bus to Syunik and conduct sessions with our speakers in the region. The return to Yerevan will be on Sunday, September 26, where we will close the Exchange by 1pm at the conference hotel.

In order to promote small group dynamics, the number of participants will be capped at 25. Sessions will be conducted on an individual rather than a panel basis and will generally allow ample opportunity for question time (translation into English will be provided when necessary). All sessions will also be held under the Chatham House rule, although we customarily work with our speakers to approve any quotes/references that participants may need for their own work.

Conference Fee Levels:

$800 — Student/Unaffiliated Researchers/Freelance Journalists

$1200 — NGO/UN/Media/Academic

$1500 — For-Profit/Government

All funding for the Exchange comes from only two sources: The participants themselves who pay the participation fee or scholarship recipients who benefit from individual, charitable contributions designed specifically to broaden the social, political and geographic diversity of each Exchange table. As such, there is no government, commercial or non-profit support, an aspect that we believe provides an objective platform for dialogue and understanding.

The Exchange Foundation currently has two Scholarships (covering the participation fee, travel/lodging and a per diem) available in each of two categories: A) An Armenian/Armenian origin person who can demonstrate a lack of institutional or self-funding ability; B) The Global Exchange Scholarship available for journalists or researchers who will deepen the social, political and geographic diversity of the Exchange and who can document a lack of institutional or self-funding ability. For any questions related to scholarships, email:

info@globalpoliticalexchange.org

Excerpt of Session Topics:

Nagorno-Karabakh – Speakers will discuss the prospects for peace and security for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh amid a tenuous ceasefire, and as questions linger as to the mission of the Russian peacekeepers, whose mandate is set to expire in four years. International legal experts will discuss the principles of territorial integrity versus self determination, while regional analysts and Yerevan-based foreign diplomats will examine what kind of settlement may be possible to secure the future of what remains of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Government officials will discuss the ways in which the war was conducted and the various outcomes as well as their strategy for a secure and peaceful Armenia and Artsakh.

Recent Armenian elections and the local landscape – Over the seven days of the Exchange, we will hear from leading figures in the government as well as the opposition and discuss their plans for the future of Armenia, broadening its foreign relations and securing its borders after a devastating war.

Prospects for trade – We will meet business leaders to learn about their challenges under three decades of blockade by Turkey and Azerbaijan, the possibilities for trade with both the East and the West and their desire for or aversion to greater connectivity with neighbouring Turkey and Azerbaijan. We will also learn about competing visions for regional trade, including Turkey’s desire for a transit corridor through southern Armenia, as well as Iran’s position against such a corridor — and revived interest in shoring up its links to Armenia.

Structural impediments to human development – Several sessions will be devoted to veteran investigative journalists and activists who can speak to the issues of corruption, human rights, security and socio-economic challenges that go well beyond the current focus on the warscape. To this end, we will also meet representatives of the minority Yazidi community to learn about the issues they face.

Interlocutors*:

• Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia
• Office of the President of Armenia
• Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• The Government of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
• Armenian Opposition Representatives
• Syunik Elected Representatives
• Representatives of Armenia to the European Court of Human Rights
• Office of the Human Rights Defender/Ombudsman
• Minsk Group Co-Chair Nations
• The United Nations
• International Crisis Group
• Regional Studies Center
• The Caucasus Institute
• International and Comparative Law Center
• Armenia-Iran Strategic Cooperation Development Center
• TUMO Center
• Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises
• Aurora Humanitarian Initiative
• Anna Astvatsaturian Foundation
  
• * N.B.: Partial list only; the final agenda with confirmed speakers will be made available to admitted participants one month in advance of the Exchange.

For more information or to apply, visit: https://www.globalpoliticalexchange.org/armenia