EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia, Philippe Lefort, along with the Head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, Traian Hristea, visited the Civilitas Foundation today. In a meeting with Civilitas Founder Vartan Oskanian, the diplomats discussed a range of regional issues with an emphasis on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict.

Mr. Lefort examined current Civilitas' programs and their role in civil society and media development in Armenia. He laid out the main goals that his mission pursues in Armenia and his outlook on the region’s issues. Discussions also revolved around the opportunities for the European Union to become more effectively engaged in Armenia.

The Civilitas Foundation hosted members of Armenia's diplomatic corps at a meeting on Tuesday, January 31, to present the Civilitas Foundation's fourth annual report. The report, entitled ARMENIA 2011, WITHOUT ILLUSIONS, is a compilation of facts and analysis on Armenia's economic, political and regional developments in 2011.

The ambassadors or representatives of France, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Romania, Switzerland, Syria, the US, the UK, Ukraine, and the Council of Europe, gathered to share thoughts about Civilitas programs. Civilitas Director Salpi Ghazarian discussed ongoing projects and especially the new media programs -- CivilNet.TV and Orakarg, a daily newspaper. She stressed the importance of the upcoming electoral period and the importance of good, comprehensive election and economic programming.

Civilitas Founder Vartan Oskanian welcomed the ambassadors and pledged that Civilitas will continue its work to strengthen civil society and civic participation in Armenia.

The Civilitas Foundation held its traditional end-of-the-year meeting with a presentation of Armenia 2011: Without Illusions, its fourth annual report, to a packed audience at Yerevan’s Golden Tulip Hotel, on Thursday, December 29, 2011.

The program, moderated by Civilitas analyst Tatul Hakobyan, featured guest speakers Lilit Galstyan,Member, National Assembly, Hranush Kharatyan, Ethnographer and Andranik Tevanyan, director of the Politeconomia Institute.

On Wednesday November 30, Sciences Po Paris played host to a panel discussion on the subject of new media and conflict prevention. The prestigious panel included: Anne-Sophie Bordry, public affairs director for Facebook, France; William Echikson, former journalist and spokesperson for Google in Brussels; Fabrice Epelboin, publisher of the French version of ReadWriteWeb and co-founder of the Tunisian Association for Digital Liberties; Salpi H. Ghazarian, director of the Civilitas Foundation;  Lilane Landor, language controller of BBC Global News; Joseph Maïla, founder of the Institue for training in Mediation and Negotiation and Omar Saghi, Sciences Po. professor and screenwriter.