A platform for social cohesion among displaced former residents of Nagorny Karabakh in Armenia

The description of this project has been provided by the “Stepanakert” Media Club.

About the project

The initiative brings together political experts, civil society activists and former residents of Nagorny Karabakh who were displaced to Armenia after the escalation of the conflict in autumn 2023. During meetings various issues have been raised, such as the legal status and integration of displaced people in Armenia, the preservation of Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorny Karabakh and help searching for missing persons.

The project aims primarily to support displaced former residents of Nagorny Karabakh who are in vulnerable situations and to help them self-organise to protect their rights and interests. Another aim is to foster communication between the Nagorny Karabakh and Armenian communities and also with the authorities. To this end the project team regularly organises:

• public discussions between political analysts and civil society representatives from Nagorny Karabakh and Armenia;
• monitoring of Armenian and foreign media focused on issues around the preservation of Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorny Karabakh;
• public opinion surveys of displaced people.

The team hopes that if displaced people from Nagorny Karabakh are actively involved in public life it will also help to mitigate the impact of collective trauma and bring people together.

Challenges and outcomes

Over the course of the project no fewer than six public discussions were organised, with participation by displaced people and experts. In addition, during this time over 100 personal stories were collected from people who had been displaced from Nagorny Karabakh. These formed the basis of a set of recommendations for the authorities, as well for articles published in the media.

A number of factors hindered the effective implementation of the project. It was difficult to attract large numbers of participants because people are now scattered across different regions of Armenia and many of them, particularly in the first few months, were preoccupied with their day-to-day problems. The work was also made more difficult by the fact that a significant proportion of the displaced community were experiencing collective psychological trauma.

Despite these obstacles, the platform managed to attract new people to the discussions and to retain people who had joined the project previously. In addition, the initiative led to several disparate groups joining forces to search for missing persons and re-bury the dead in Armenia. The group also established contact with the Office of the Ombudsman of Armenia, as well as with several international organisations and media outlets.

This project is not only helping a vulnerable group of people to work together to solve their problems, but is also involving them in decision-making processes about their future.

Publications about the project:

Article about the discussion on the topic of preserving the Nagorny Karabakh dialect, 25 June 2024 (in Armenian)

Article about the discussion on the topic of missing persons in Nagorny Karabakh, 30 July 2024 (in Armenian)

Article about the discussion on the theme of hate speech and discrimination against the Nagorny Karabakh community in Armenia and ways to establish dialogue, 3 March 2025 (in Armenian)

Article about the results of media monitoring on issues around the preservation of monuments in Nagorny Karabakh, 3 March 2025 (in Russian)