On November 2, an online public awareness seminar was held with the participation of non-governmental organizations, human rights defenders, lawyers and other interested persons of Lori, Tavush and Ararat regions.  The Armenian Lawyers’ Association, the CSOs Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia and the Constructive Dialogue Network of Armenian CSOs organized the seminar in the framework of the “Multifaceted Whistle-Blowing Promotion in Armenia” project implemented by the ALA with the support of the European Union and the “Open Government Partnership Europe” Foundation.

The main objective of the discussion was to raise public awareness about the whistle-blowing system, assisting in the improvement of the whistle-blowing system and to change the legal perception and culture of the public in Armenia about the whistle-blowers. It is also aimed at creating a positive and demanding image of the whistle-blower as a citizen of the Republic of Armenia.

The participants, together with the speaker of the seminar and the expert of the “Multifaceted Whistle-Blowing Promotion in Armenia” project Ms Syuzanna Soghomonyan, studied the notion of the whistle-blower in general, the role of whistle-blowers in today’s reality and all the electronic whistle-blower platforms operating in Armenia. The speaker presented step by step how people who have doubts about corruption cases can submit an application on the platforms, both anonymously and openly, that is, by submitting personal data. The gaps and problems existing in the whistle-blowing system were also presented..

Further the participants of the seminar exchanged and collected ideas. They expressed their positions and opinions about the whistle-blowing system. A number of suggestions and recommendations aimed at improving the whistle-blowing system were collected.

After getting acquainted with the new electronic whistle-blowing platform haytnir.am, many of the participants emphasized the importance of launching an alternative whistle-blowing platform, because according to them, in today’s reality, unfortunately, the public trust in state bodies is slightly inferior to trust in public organizations.

Ms Narine Poghosyan, director of the culture house of Aygehovit community of Tavush marz, inquired about the implementation of the whistle-blowing incentive system, whether the new anti-corruption strategy includes steps to introduce an incentive (also monetary) system, and whether Armenia will adopt the mechanisms of the whistle-blowing system in the near future, following successful international experience. Continuing the topic of awareness, the Pprogram Assistant Ms Anahit Mardoyan presented to the participants the activities aimed at raising awareness among pupils and students, particularly the drawing and essay contests on the whistle-blowing. Information on the details of the competitions and the registration procedure is available here.

The participants enthusiastically welcomed the organization of a similar awareness seminars and each in turn proposed to organize similar awareness seminars, discussions and meetings in the offline format, both in regional centers and border communities.