CIVILNET

How Visa is supporting women entrepreneurs in Armenia

Sponsored contentVisa’s Diana Kiguradze speaks with CivilNet about the growth of the She's Next, Empowered by Visa initiative in Armenia and the milestone of its first national pitch contest. She explains how the program supports women entrepreneurs beyond financial grants and why partnerships are key to its success. Kiguradze also shares Visa’s broader vision for expanding opportunities for women-led businesses in the Caucasus.0:00- Evolution of Visa's She's Next in Armenia 3:56- Long-term help beyond the financial 6:45- Importance of collaborative partnerships 8:18- Where is She's Next going, and Visa's broader visit in Armenia

Civil society criticizes ruling party lawmaker’s nomination to Constitutional Court

📍 A group of Armenian non-governmental organizations has criticized the nomination of ruling party lawmaker Vladimir Vardanyan as a judge of the Constitutional Court.📍 The European Union’s temporary monitoring mission on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border could be replaced by a permanent mission in Armenia with a broader mandate. #CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #dailyarmenia

Attacks on Iran’s power infrastructure could trigger outages in Armenia

📍 Armenia may face risks to the stability of its electricity system should U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran’s power infrastructure continue, a former deputy minister told CivilNet.📍 Catholicos Karekin II of the Armenian Apostolic Church was unable to attend the funeral of Georgia’s Catholicos Ilia II due to a travel ban imposed by Armenian authorities. #CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #dailyarmenia

Pashinyan apologizes following angry exchange with Karabakh refugee

📍 A heated subway confrontation involving Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and a Karabakh refugee sparked backlash, prompting an apology and renewed concerns over rhetoric toward Armenians from Artsakh. 📍 Ararat Mirzoyan outlined Armenia’s expanding diplomacy, highlighting progress with Turkey, new ties with Pakistan, EU support, and ongoing talks with Azerbaijan over a peace deal. 📍 This Week in Business- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjIzAeMhQ1E #CivilNet #ՍիվիլՆեթ #dailyarmenia

Democracy Watch | Academic Freedom in Armenia at Risk? The Case of Edita Gzoyan

On March 10, Edita Gzoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute (AGMI), submitted her resignation [https://www.azatutyun.am/a/tseghaspanoutyan-tangarayani-tn%D6%85reni-hrazharakany-arants-batsatroutyan-ashkhatakitsnery-khosoum-en-partadranki-masin/33700612.html] and was dismissed from her position. Media reports about the possible reasons for her resignation appeared immediately and were confirmed two days later by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan himself. During a briefing on March 13, Pashinyan confirmed [https://www.azatutyun.am/a/pashinyan-im-tsoutsoumov-e-tseghaspanoutyan-tangaran-institouti-tn%D6%85renn-azatman-dimoum-grel/33702829.html]that Gzoyan had written her resignation at his instruction. The reason for this decision was that, during U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance’s visit to the AGMI in February of this year, Gzoyan presented him with a book related to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Following the visit, Gzoyan told [https://www.azatutyun.am/a/vensy-jnjel-e-hayots-tseghaspanoutyan-houshahamalir-katarats-aytsi-masin-graroumn-ou-lousankarnery/33674305.html]Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that, among other books, she had gifted the U.S. Vice President a volume on Armenian–Tatar clashes between 1905 and 1921. Justifying his decision, Pashinyan described this act as contrary to the government’s foreign policy and as provocative. He stated that the government’s official position is that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is over and that Armenia will not continue it. By giving Vance a book related to the conflict, Gzoyan, in his view, had contradicted the government’s official stance. Notably, the book gifted by Gzoyan was actually a collection of historical accounts about Armenian–Tatar clashes between 1905 and 1921, rather than a work about the contemporary phase of the Karabakh conflict.