On 5 March, participants of the second stream of budget training for young specialists and CSOs/Media organizations of the “Budgets 4 Citizens” program referred to the levels and implementation stages of participatory budgeting.
Ms Syuzanna Soghomonyan, representative of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association, spoke at the training, which was unique in its interactive approach. Participants first completed initial knowledge assessment tests to determine their level of knowledge gained after the online phase.
During the training, the speaker spoke about the importance of participatory budgeting as a tool for the involvement of citizens, which allows the citizens, residents and the public at large to directly influence the improvement of quality of their life.
A key part of the course was the practical group work, during which participants, both in-person and those who had joined the training remotely, were divided into teams and applied the knowledge they had gained in real situations.
The groups discussed the obstacles encountered in participatory processes in the budget sector and proposed concrete solutions.
The training was conducted in a hybrid format, which allowed young specialists and representatives of civil society organizations and media from remote regions to participate and gain the same knowledge in the field of budgeting as participants of the face-to-face format.
At the end of the training, participants completed the post evaluation tests, which showed significant increases in knowledge.
The “Budgets 4 Citizens” (B4C) action (8 December, 2022 – 7 December, 2026) is being implemented with the financial support of the European Union by the Armenian Lawyers’ Association, in cooperation with partners “Economic Development and Research Center” (EDRC) NGO and “Agora Central Europe” NGO (Czech Republic).
