Armenian media representatives, public opinion makers participated in “OPEN east media think tank” event, an informal gathering of journalists and the beneficiaries of the EU-funded regional programs.

The event was organized by the EU Neighbors East on Friday, October 4. The main purpose of the meeting was to share and discuss specific results of the programs and impacts on people's lives, as well as EU opportunities for Armenian citizens.

The participants presented the opportunities of Horizon 2020 program for research and innovation, EU4Business, SMEDA - Support to SME Development in Armenia project, EU4Youth initiative. The beneficiaries of different programs spoke about their projects and the opportunities that the prop grams provide.

In her speech during the event, the head of EU delegation to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin said the EU is supporting development of knowlegede-based economy.

“We want to imporve the lives of Armenians, and this is our goal. I am really happy that this event is a good showcase of what we are doing Armenia. We are supporting Armenia in key areas for development of knowlegde-based economy. We have to support entrepreneurs and innovation as a basis for knowledge-based economy, education, science and cooperation in the regions, as Yerevan is not everything. We also support entrepreneurship among women and youth. We want to contribute to small and medium sized enterprises, as the successful economy is based on this,”  Wiktoin said.

EU young ambassadors also told about their network and civil society involvement in Armenia. 

EU Neighbors East is an EU-funded project aimed at strengthening partnerships in the Eastern Neighborhood and establishing links with citizens.