Regional Post Caucasus discusses the role of small and medium-sized enterprises in the economic development of Armenia and how the EU helps boost the capacities of local SMEs.

The EU has always stressed the importance of creating equal opportunities for women in different sectors, including business and social entrepreneurship. Over the past years, the EU has taken major efforts to foster the development of women in the regions of Armenia. EU4Women: Economic Empowerment through Social Enterprise is one of the many EU-supported initiatives that has promoted gender equality via economic empowerment. Regional Post talked to several beneficiaries of the project to learn more about their stories of how they achieved financial sustainability with the support of the European Union.

Film critic Karen Avetisyan describes the complicated relations between literature and cinema - in the world and in Armenia, from literature-based “Namus” to Parajanov’s "non-literary" approach to the narrative.

Armenia has a new parliament, but the ruling party is the same. Armenia’s Snap Parliamentary Elections explained.

Natural heritage is precious and irreplaceable. Restoring and conserving our unique ecosystems needs our significant efforts and daily attention. We also need environmental actors, professionals to implement targeted efforts conserving the ecosystems and the natural heritage of the region. REC Caucasus is one of the key players behind numerous projects when it comes to environmental issues in the Caucasus region. Regional Environmental Center for the Caucasus (REC Caucasus) was established back in 1999 by the EU and the Governments of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan in the frame of “Environment for Europe Process.” The primary goal of the center is to work towards the solution of environmental issues in the region and serve as a bridge among the stakeholders to achieve maximum efficiency. The development of civil society in the three states is another mission of this regional organization. We talked to Ms. Nune Harutyunyan, Executive Director of REC Caucasus about the regional mandate of the organization with a particular focus on ecosystem services.

When talking about Armenian writers on a global scale, Armenians usually mention William Saroyan and Sergey Dovlatov. But that’s past. And who are the most successful authors with Armenian descent today?

Art & Music festival Alteration opened on May 30th in Yerevan, with world famous DJ Nina Kraviz performing on the stage of the legendary "Ayrarat" cinema hall, abandoned after the collapse of the USSR. Alteration will last till June 18, and will have events both with local and international artists.

Yerevan Wine Days is the most anticipated event of the year both for the locals and the tourists. Everyone awaits for the opening of the tourism season to take a glass of wine in their hand and enjoy the summer. In 2019, the event hosted 35,000 wine aesthetes within two days. The situation was significantly different in 2020 due to the Covid outbreak, however, the organizers found another way to keep the presence of the Yerevan Wine Days active and make the year-long quarantine gap less harmful for the winemakers in Armenia. Regional Post talked to Mary Badalyan, the co-founder of the Yerevan Wine Days, about the hardships of the previous year and the upcoming return of the wine celebration on the streets of Yerevan.

During the recent decades the use of fuelwood and dung for heating and cooking purposes has been a common practice in the rural households of Armenia. Unsustainable production and inefficient use of these fuels is linked to different areas including household economics, health, energy, and forests. Excessive use of fuelwood has negative consequences for human well-being and forests. There is a need to increase the efficiency of households’ heating as well as to explore and promote the alternatives. This will help to conserve the limited forest resources of Armenia for future generations and improve the livelihoods in rural Armenia.

Literary critic, chief editor of “Antares” publishing house Arkmenik Nikoghosyan tells about the recent trends in the Armenian literary market and its main bestsellers.