Armenia launches youth-focused participatory budgeting initiative

The Government of Armenia, with support from Germany and Switzerland, has launched a new initiative to expand youth engagement in participatory budgeting and other civic decision-making processes.

Within the framework of the newly launched program, it is planned to promote meaningful and impactful youth participation in governance and decision-making processes, including participatory budgeting and other civic engagement mechanisms.

The event marking the launch of the project was attended by Arayik Harutyunyan, Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Office; Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Davit Khudatyan; Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Arthur Martirosyan; Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in Armenia Lars Hennig; and other officials.

Addressing the young participants at the event, Harutyunyan said that significant work had been done toward the implementation of the program and that the Government of Armenia places great importance on it.

“We often speak about reforms, but we must admit that they do not always deliver the results citizens expect. Why is that? Because changing laws is easy, but changing mentality, culture, and behavior is much more difficult. We have understood an important fact: without real public participation and engagement, even the best program can remain only on paper. This is where your role, dear young people, becomes crucial and decisive. We do not see you as the workforce of tomorrow—you are the active participants of today. Your education, innovative thinking, and even your critical perspective are what the state system needs to become more effective and goal-oriented. And it is precisely participatory governance mechanisms that can turn this potential into concrete results,” Harutyunyan said.

According to Harutyunyan, the program gives citizens the opportunity to become real participants in decision-making processes, while enabling state bodies to respond more accurately to public needs.

“In communities, we have succeeded in implementing participatory budgeting, which I believe is one of our best achievements in recent years, and it is not merely a financial tool. It is a bridge of trust between the citizen and the state. When you take part in decision-making, you become the owner of that decision. We want to create an Armenia where you do not just witness change, but are the very authors of that change,” said Harutyunyan, calling on young people to make use of the platform.

Minister Khudatyan also noted that, for example, in 2021, Armenian citizens—particularly young people—showed relatively little interest in governance processes, and he highlighted the significant changes that have taken place since.

“Five years later, I can see that we have been able to ensure significant changes in terms of citizen participation, including participation in local self-government activities. Initially, Armenian communities implemented participatory budgeting programs without financial support from the government, and in the first year, this line was included only in community budgets. When we realized that the program was progressing successfully, the Government of Armenia allocated 500 million drams in the first year for four communities, later 1 billion drams, then 2 billion drams, and now we have dozens of communities involved in this process,” said Davit Khudatyan.

He emphasized that, by instruction of Prime Minister Pashinyan, the participatory budgeting program should become one of the largest initiatives aimed at developing community infrastructure.

“We are planning in the near future to gradually direct the main financial component from the Government to the participatory budgeting program, based on the simple logic that this is a targeted program. In other words, it implements specific infrastructure development measures selected by citizens and of public interest. The Government of Armenia is interested in the successful implementation of the program and in promoting youth participation. In the near future, we will also be able to implement larger programs with a wider geographic scope,” noted the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure.

Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Arthur Martirosyan also emphasized the importance of implementing the program and youth participation in decision-making.

“The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport will unequivocally support increasing participation, and I believe that the network of youth centers established across Armenia will become a platform for bringing these programs to life and leading them forward,” he said.

Germany’s Deputy Head of Mission Lars Hennig also delivered remarks, noting that, in general, a significant number of young people worldwide feel that they are operating without authority, seeing themselves as highly individualistic and not responsible to society. According to him, this is not a specifically Armenian phenomenon, but one that exists across the Western world, including Germany.

“Democratic systems must address this challenge. I believe the best place to start is with budgetary processes at the local level. Such inclusion can build trust and responsibility that is sometimes lacking. I believe this cooperation highlights that our shared responsibility is to encourage civic engagement and promote citizen participation in decision-making, as well as to overcome the challenge I mentioned,” he said.

The aim of the launch meeting was to form a general understanding of the goals, scope, and expected outcomes of the initiative. The program is being launched by the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia in cooperation with the GIZ.