Recognising Journalists' Work in Gender Equality Issues

Gohar Hakobyan, the first prize winner of the "Printed article" nomination

Gohar Hakobyan, a journalist from the Aravot daily newspaper, has participated in the Na/Ne Annual Media competition for the second time.  Last year, she won the third prize and this year she was the winner in the Print Media nomination. Her story about a woman who struggles against stereotypes for her right to be happy was the best story among the submissions for that nomination.  "The competition is one of the most important events for the media community and it is an honour to get a prize from the British Council," Gohar said.

This was the third time that the British Council Armenia had organised the Na/Ne media award; this year our traditional partners - the British Embassy Yerevan and the OSCE Office - were joined by the UNFPA and mobile operator VivaCell-MTS.

"The Third Na/Ne Media Award was very impressive. We received over 100 submissions from various media outlets.  Vivacell-MTS proposed adding a new nomination - the Best Submission by a Student. We are very glad that with each year the competition is getting more attention not only from the journalists but also from partners", said British Council Armenia director Arevik Saribekyan.

The Na/Ne Media Award ceremony took place on 31 January at the Yerevan State Drama

Na/Ne silver statuette

Theatre with over 300 people making up an enthusiastic audience.  The winners of the first prize got the highly sought Na/Ne silver statuette and a cash prize. The statuette was made by cameraman Hovhannes Hakobyan and symbolises the unity of Na and Ne - the masculine and the feminine - with the tree of life forming a microphone.

Seven nominations were announced. The panel of judges gave three prizes for entries in the categories of TV story, radio programme, print media, online story, commercial advertisement, and photo story and student submissions. The stories had to cover the activities and achievements, problems and challenges of women in political, economic and social spheres from a perspective of gender equality. The Na/Ne Media Award was created within our Wo/Men in Politics project and over three years it has become a popular and much anticipated event.

"The Na/Ne Media Award has become a good tradition. I prepared my story specifically for the competition", said Gohar Hakobyan.

Suren Deheryan, founder of Journalists for the Future NGO, was a member of the panel of judges.  With his fellow judges, he watched dozens of TV stories and read several articles. "We should understand that this award both recognises the importance of the stories as well as honours the journalists who prepared them," said Suren Deheryan.

Changing the public perception about female leadership

After 2 years of work with women politicians to develop their skills, create strong networks and change the public perception about female leadership in the society, the Wo/Men in Politics project came to its end. And although the project is ending, there are activities that have grown through these years to turn into successful and independent partnership projects.

The Na/Ne media award has become a recognised event with growing interest from media representatives and growing number of supporters from international organisations and businesses. We have also established a valuable partnership with the National Assembly (NA) of RA. After the trip of the women MPs to Wales, London, Finland and Poland, a decision was made to create a similar cross-party group in the NA of RA following the experience of their colleagues in Europe. British Council remains committed to assist with the formation and the capacity building of the group.

During the presentation the participants received certificates

The project was funded by the British Embassy Yerevan. Within the project 20 women politicians from different political parties participated in a range of trainings, professional and social networking events and study visits to the United Kingdom and other European countries with developed democratic structures and mechanisms.

"The project was very fruitful. During our study visit to the UK we learned how the political system works there. The project was necessary for the women politicians who usually have a lack of skills and confidence", said the project participant Mariam Karapetyan.

HM ambassador Charles Lonsdale states that even in the UK the involvement of women in political life is not as high as it should be. "Political parties are initiating steps to encourage women's participation in political life, but still the women's presence in the Westminster parliament makes 21 percent", said HM ambassador. It must be noted, however, that the Welsh and Scottish parliaments have been more effective in securing gender balance, with 50 and 40 percent female representation respectively. This is why the two parliament structures were studied very closely by the project participants.

"During our study visit to the UK we learned about cross-party group. This group consists of the women, and sometimes also men parliamentarians representing different political factions. They come together in order to solve issues important for the country. We were inspired with this idea and decided to create such a group in Armenia", said Karine Atshemyan, member of the National Assembly of the RA.

An important component of the Wo/Men in Politics project was the cascading of skills

The book From Women Politicians to Women Polticians

developed by the project participants to their peers and the wider audience of women planning to make a political career. For this purpose the project participants organised trainings in the regions of Armenia for women representing various political parties. Based on the needs identified through these trainings the project participants, supported by the Armenian Association of Women with University Education, and developed a publication From Women Politicians to Women Politicians summing up all their experiences and knowledge gained during the project along with an outline of the Armenian political structure and the key skills necessary to advance in politics.

On 16 February the British Council Armenia organised the closing ceremony of the project at the Library of the Yerevan State University where the book was presented and the project participants were awarded with the project participation certificates. 50 copies of the book were donated to the university library. More books will be donated to other universities, as well as to the political parties of Armenia and other interested institutions.

Mentors - A Teacher's Best Friend!

Participants had a wide range of experience working as English teachers and teacher trainers.

"You're walking through the jungle, there's a river we have to cross here," said one of the participants, leading the other - who had her eyes closed - across the room.

This exercise was both very enjoyable for the participants and also a vivid metaphor for the focus of the workshop - developing mentoring skills.

The British Council and the National Institute of Education ran a two-day Mentor Development workshop on 15 and 16 February.  The workshop featured 7 Peace Corps volunteers and 9 English language specialists from the National Institute of Education.  Participants had come from all over Armenia and had a wide range of experience working as English teachers and teacher trainers, doing both formal and informal mentoring as part of their jobs.

The workshop was run by Nicola Crowley, who had flown in from Israel and was visiting Armenia for the second time.  Nicola focused on the roles of mentors and mentees, goal setting, action planning, meetings and mentoring relationships.  Participants reflected on the importance of being or having a good mentor and, through a number of exercises, honed their skills in these areas.

The workshop is a part of our strategic partnership with the National Institute of Education, with whom we have been working closely since 2008.  A participant from the NIE said, "Mentoring is not a widespread practice in Armenia and this course helped me understand the importance of formal mentoring.  We should do more courses like this, perhaps with school teachers or other people who can act as mentors for their peers."

British Council Armenia launches online IELTS registration

British Council Armenia is pleased to announce IELTS Online Registration System. You can easily register for the preferred date of the test without coming to the British Council Armenia office.

Even more online registration gives an access to Road to IELTS: 30 hours online free preparation course. An access is given to registered and paid candidates.

The materials are designed exclusively for registered candidates and based on commonly used IELTS topics. Each unit covers all four sections of the exam (reading, listening, writing and speaking). To learn more about online registration and Road to IELTS, please visit the British Council Armenia website.

Please note that from 1st of March only online applications will be considered. Visit IELTS online registration homepage to register.

Scholarship opportunity

Upcoming events

9^th British Film Festival will be held in Yerevan, Vanadzor and Kapan. Within the festival, besides main program of feature films, short films will be presented at the Gafesjian Center for the Arts. Sarah Ross, special guest of the festival, will run workshops and master classes in Yerevan, Vanadzor and Kapan. Entrance to all screenings is free. 

When - 3 March, 19.00

Where - Gafesjian Center for the Arts

When - 8-13 March, 17:00, 19:00

Where - Moscow Cinema theatre, Yerevan

When - 10-12 March, 15:00

Where - Aznavour Cultural Centre, Vanadzor

When - 14-16 March, 16:00

Where - Cultural Centre, Kapan

As the UK's principal cultural relations organisation the British Council is strongly committed to the policy of Equal Opportunity and is keen to reflect diversity at every level within the organisation and in all programmes and activities.

You can find more information about our approach within the organisation and how we build Equal Opportunity & Diversity into our programmes and projects in Armenia and worldwide at our website.

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