Strengthening NGO Capacity for Improved Rural Development in Armenia

Karine Taslakyan, Armenia (Alumna 2004) During her fellowship in the United States, Muskie alumna Karine Taslakyan was afforded an array of opportunities that provided her with invaluable skills in both project management and natural resource management. She studied Public Administration at the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington for two years and interned for a summer at the US Environmental Protection Agency. These experiences gave Taslakyan the idea and determination to develop a two-day training for 40 select NGO leaders in Armenia through which she could share the knowledge she acquired during her studies in the US.

The primary goal of the training, funded by an ECA Alumni Small Grant, was to develop skills in project management and enhance the understanding of natural resource management among NGO leaders working in the fields of rural development in Armenia. The training also served as an opportunity for the participating NGOs to establish contacts with other colleagues in the field and to foster potential collaborations.

The training was comprised of series of theoretical presentations followed by interactive question and answer sessions. Participants also engaged in practical group work on case study analysis and presented their results to the larger cohort for commentary and suggestions.

Taslakyan notes that “this project has become an opportunity for me, as a Muskie alumna, to realize my professional capacities and to share knowledge I’ve gained during my graduate studies in Public Administration at the US University.”