BRUSSELS — The Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) has secured a landmark €10 million grant from the European Commission through European Investment Bank (EIB) Global to establish two SMART Centers in Armenia’s Syunik Province.

The grant was formalized at the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels on 25 October by EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood, OlivérVárhelyi, and EIB Vice-President, Thomas Österos. The signing ceremony was witnessed by the Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan as well as COAF Global Executive Director Ara Barsam and Managing Director Liana Ghaltaghchyan.

This partnership heralds a new era of educational excellence in Armenia's southern Syunik region, bringing world-class after-school education to the children of the region. This groundbreaking initiative entails the construction of two innovative extracurricular education and teacher training centers in the cities of Kapan and Goris in the Syunik region of Southern Armenia.

These cutting-edge facilities will provide high-quality after-school education and comprehensive services to up to 6,000 children and young adults aged 3 to 18. Students can access a wide range of after-school programs, including foreign languages, entrepreneurship, arts, engineering, athletics. Students will also benefit from the support of social workers, education counselors, study trips, and workshops from international experts.

Following the model of COAF's flagship SMART Center in Armenia's northern Lori region, inaugurated in 2018, this initiative marks a significant step towards enhancing education and development in rural areas. Over the course of its 5-year operation, the Lori SMART Center has served more than 4,000 students from 28 communities and stands as an integral part of a growing network of educational and development facilities, fostering new professional training and employment prospects for rural citizens.

The establishment of two SMART Centers in Syunik is closely aligned with the flagship initiative, "Investing in education, notably in the Syunik region," as part of the European Union's Economic and Investment Plan for the Eastern Partnership. This initiative is also a pivotal element of the Team Europe Initiative on Resilient Syunik, aimed at bolstering the socio-economic resilience of the southern region of Armenia, which has been significantly impacted by the 2020 hostilities and the recent mass displacement of Karabakh Armenians.

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