REPORT- Catalysing Peacebuilding in Armenia: Insights and Recommendations from Grassroot Activists

The primary objective of this study is to uncover the specific needs of activists in Armenia, with the intention of formulating targeted capacity-building initiatives to support their invaluable work. The needs assessment consisted of two phases, one conduced prior to the displacement of the Armenian population from Nagorny Karabakh in 2023, and one following these events. The report aims to do the follow:

• Explore grassroots activists’ comprehension of peacebuilding and perception of their roles in advancing it.
• Investigate the local environment for grassroots activism in Armenia, shedding light on the key factors that enable or hinder peacebuilding efforts.
• Identify the essential resources, support systems, and capacities that grassroots activists require to enhance their contributions to peacebuilding.
• Craft recommendations for customised capacity-building programmes driven by the expressed needs and insights of the study participants.

Key Insights

The participant’s definition of peacebuilding uncovered that there are three distinct dimensions that encapsulate the various spheres of activity critical to fostering peace:

• On the grassroots level the participants were convinced that societies need to be primed for peace (‘readiness for peace’), of which informed public dialogue through peace education (critical discourse) and human security were seen as key themes. The participants saw themselves as playing the role of ‘conversation starters’ within their communities, as well as advocates for peace education, and government watchdogs.
• On cross-border level, the need for participatory dialogue (with wider societal involvement), trust- and confidence-building in society were highlighted. The role of activists was seen as channelling information and supporting rational discourses in society.
• On regional/international level, the participants expressed the desire for grassroot activists to be involved in international advocacy. The role of activists was defined as fostering networks for dialogues and advocate of peace globally.

Despite the well-established tradition of peacebuilding activism in Armenia and the proliferation of multiple new initiatives, participants highlighted that can identify multiple challenges to peacebuilding currently, including:

• The lack of transparency regarding government-led peace negotiations, with no participatory mechanism for civil society to be involved on the political level. Although the government expects civil society to be involved in peacebuilding processes, the is a lack of security guarantees for activists that do want to be engaged.
• The lack of information, in combination with wider distrust in the government, has created a fertile ground for those who wants to manipulate information and spread disinformation for political gain.
• The psychological impact of war, combined with the continued popularity of revanchist and nationalist narratives complicate discussions of peace in society.
• General scepticism in society towards the effectiveness of peacebuilding following the 2020 war, partly due to lack of visibility of peacebuilders.
• Dominating security concerns and the rise of nationalistic narratives, impacting amongst other things the sense of security of activists.
• The peacebuilding community remains fragmented in nature, with a lack of cooperation both internally and across the border.
• The existing intergenerational gap between younger and more experiences peacebuilders and the difficult in access information about previous peacebuilding work.

In order to ensure that peacebuilding in Armenia is empowered, the participants highlighted the following:

• Building the expertise within the peacebuilding society, especially regarding conflict transformation theory and practice, past peacebuilding work, and lessons learned.
• Expanding the reach and impact of peacebuilding activism beyond traditional circles by:
  • strengthening activists’ communication and community engagement capacities, including learning how to build effective relationships in communities.
  • creating more spaces for dialogue and discussion, by strengthening activists’ facilitation and communication skills, recognising the need for tailored and trauma-informed language when engaging conflict-affected people.
  • promoting peacebuilding in media content, especially on social media, on peacebuilding.
  • strengthening advocacy skills, especially for grassroot-level activists.
• Fostering collaboration and overcoming fragmentation within the peacebuilding community in Armenia, including through regular meetings and relationship-building.
• Equipping activities with the skills and resources necessary take care of their physical safety, digital security, and mental well-being.
• Ensuring availability of flexible funding to ensure sustainable peacebuilding efforts.