Education in Armenia
Armenian Liberal Academy 2025
FNF South Caucasus
In April-May, FNF Armenia organized a two-module (in total six days) Liberal Academy. This was the second Academy in a row, following the successful implementation of the first edition in 2024, which drew strong interest from youth across the country.
Out of more than 80 applications, 17 young participants were chosen this time to take part in this unique learning experience. The Academy provides an interactive space for youth to learn about the current trends in liberalism, global political picture of democratic development and other topics.
The core of the program was the need to understand the presence of liberalism in Armenia. In this direction we dived into current democratic developments of Armenia.
What is the situation with the human rights? How is the political landscape in Armenia? Where are peace negotiations headed? What does European integration mean for Armenia? What is the situation with women rights in Armenia? The participants explored these and other interesting topics with the invited experts. The discussions around them raised thoughtful conversations and questions about Armenia’s democratic trajectory.
This year, FNF Armenia also introduced the topic of colonialism regarding Armenia, as it has an important footprint on democratic development of the country. That meant digging into the past of the Armenian statehood and history in general and in-depth look at the role Russia during the last two centuries. This part of the module was focused on the Russian colonial policy and its constant postcolonial manifestations since Armenia’s independence in 1991. During this module we also shared FNF Armenia’s recent study on Russian colonial discourse regarding Armenia, conducted in cooperation with researchers Mikayel Zolyan and Edgar Vardanyan. The publication sheds more light on main narratives of the Russian colonial policy on Armenia.
The academy showed a strong interest among young Armenians to discuss and reflect on liberal values and approaches. With that in mind, the FNF Armenia will continue its work with its new members of alumni network while using participants’ feedback to tailor a more useful and interesting learning experience for future editions of its Liberal Academy.