On 17 March, regular training sessions in the framework of the second stream of training programs aimed at transferring budgetary knowledge to young specialists and developing the budgetary capacities of CSOs/Media organizations launched within the framework of the “Budgets for Citizens” project were held.
Guest Lecturer of the Project Ms Sveta Harosyan conducted the master class with the young specialists and CSO/Media representatives and shared her experience in the field of budget policy and participatory budgeting.
The training sessions started with an initial knowledge test for participants, which helped to assess their initial knowledge on participatory budgeting.
The guest lecturer discussed in detail the main mechanisms and the key goals of participatory budgeting, the role and importance of citizens in the budgeting process, as well as the examples of successful participatory budgeting projects at the community level.
The theoretical part was followed by the question and answer session, during which young specialists and SCO representatives raised questions regarding the applicability of participatory budgeting mechanisms and organization of participatory budgeting processes at the local community levels, as well as possibilities of involving the civil society in budgeting processes.
Group practical work aimed to more effectively consolidate the theoretical knowledge acquired, was carried out with young specialists and CSO representatives. Participants were divided into small groups and worked on practical examples based on real community problems and developed participatory budgeting models.
The trainings were concluded with completion of the final knowledge test which was aimed at assessing the level of improvement of participants’ knowledge and the effectiveness of courses.
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).
