Civil.am – a website created by Civilitas last year to offer the non-governmental sector room to publicize its successes and attempt to secure financial support for new projects – has added a new section called Resources. There, NGOs can find links to legal, financial, organizational and other resources to strengthen capacity and enable independence. Another new feature is the announcement of grant possibilities. The first announcement, made by the Norwegian Honorary Consul in Armenia, has elicited over 6 dozen responses. We invite other donors, both institutional and personal, to offer support to worthwhile projects and programs.

Civilitas will continue with its public forum programming this year. The February 9 forum will focus on the media.
Even as digitization has broadened broadcast opportunities around the world, in Armenia, digitization presented an opportunity to limit the number of broadcasters in country. The next Civilitas public forum will focus, therefore, on the topic of media in Armenia. The recent decisions by the National TV and Radio Committee Council offered licenses to 18 TV station companies to broadcast digitally beginning in 2012. Several lost their licenses, including at least three which are not perceived as responsive to government influence.

This and continuing financial and political limitations place additional pressures on the print, broadcast and Internet news outlets. In that environment, Civilitas and our guests will discuss ways for the news media to remain professional and responsible even under these circumstances, why limitations are placed and who wins and who loses as a result, how is it that some media outlets have succeeded in gaining public confidence.  If you are in Yerevan on Wednesday February 9 and wish to participate, we’d love to see you and hear from you. If you are not, you can follow the program live on the web.

Also on the web, at civilitasfoundation.org, you can read Tatul Hakobyan’s analyses of recent events in and around Armenia.