Media Literacy Ambassadors of Tavush, Gegharkunik and Syunik

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In November of last year with the financial support of European Youth Foundation, we have kicked off
“Media Literacy Ambassadors: Advancing Media Literacy and Digital Participation among Regional Youth
in Armenia” project that aims to equip young people in 3 borderline regions of Armenia (Syunik,
Gegharkunik and Tavush) with key media literacy skills: critical thinking, fact checking, online safety,
social media verification, and quality assessment of online information and their sources through a 7-
day dedicated training course, tailored to local youth needs.
After the Training Course our young regional participants started their own small initiatives becoming
young media literacy ambassadors in their communities. We decided to talk to few of them to see how
“far” they have gone.

Laura Mkrtchyan
My name is Laura, I am 17 years old and I study in the 11th grade of Gavar Secondary School. I am
actively involved in volunteering activities and also take part in many interesting projects. I have not
selected the main field of my future studies yet, because I see myself in many different sectors, that is
why I still continue to study different topics to find the one which is the closest to my heart. I want to
develop myself as a self-taught person and I always like to share new knowledge with my friends,
classmates, and young people in my community.
Participating in the “Media Literacy Ambassadors: Advancing Media Literacy and Digital Participation
among Regional Youth in Armenia” project hosted by APY, I gained a lot of knowledge about media. This
project has been very exceptional for me since I have participated with big interest in the topic and I am
delighted to have had the opportunity to participate in the project.
Right after the end of the training, I started organizing local workshops in my community in Gavar,
transferring the knowledge I gained to the youth of my community. In addition, I helped the adults to
distinguish between fake and real social media pages and posts on social networks.
In the future, I’m going to organize more trainings and meetings, because media literacy is a very
demanded topic in our current reality. We are all a part of social media and we often become victims of
fake news and other threats present on social media. Let’s altogether create more media literate
Armenia.

Sona Bakunts
Hello, my name is Sona, I am from Syunik, from the depths of deep mountains. I lived and grew up in the
Verishen community. I am currently a student, studying at the State University of Goris, Department of
Armenian Language and Literature. At the same time, I work in the ‘’Bari Sirt’’ Charitable Foundation as
a programs coordinator. I have many hobbies – dancing, doing sports, reading, etc.
Last year, in November I participated in one-week “Media Literacy Ambassadors” Training activity
organized by my very favorite APY NGO.
As a result of the training, we gained a lot of knowledge about media, we raised important media
literacy issues, got a full understanding of the field, as we had learned to create podcasts, and studied
one of the most important and actual topics of nowadays – cyber security.
After completing the course, I carried out large-scale activities. I have organized numerous knowledge-
based courses for students of Artsakh State University, students of Verishen Secondary School, staff of
Verishen Elementary School, women employees of Faberlic Company and Soft Martakert in the field of
media literacy and cybersecurity.

Heriknaz Arzumanyan
My name is Heriknaz and I am an SMM Specialist. I also deliver trainings of Computer Science and Media
Literacy. I have been working as an SMM specialist for about 4 years. After the “Media Literacy
Ambassadors” TC in cooperation with “The Armenian Center for Human Rights Protection after A. D.
Sakharov’’ NGO in Syunik region, we have conducted 4 trainings and created 2 videos on fact-checking
and media literacy using the presentations of the project.
Several workshops were held in Goris, as well as in the villages of Karahunj and Akner. I also conducted 1
workshop in the border village of Vaghatur.
In the near future, I plan to conduct online training courses for the border villages of the Tegh
community, also in Goris, as I have a preliminary agreement with the youth of Hrant Baghdagulyan’s
Studio, according to which non-formal seminars are allowed to be conducted.

Lilit Shahbazyan
My name is Lilit, I am a social pedagogue by profession. I work as a social worker at the “Little Prince”
social center in Gavar city of Gegharkunik region, which is a branch of the “Armenian Caritas” charitable
NGO. Participating in the “Media Literacy Ambassadors” training course conducted by “Armenian
Progressive Youth” NGO in November of last year, on February 2-7 of of this year, I conducted my own
seminar on “Media Literacy” for the students of the “Little Prince” Center in Gavar of the Armenian
Caritas.
During the training we studied how to navigate through online resources and websites, fact-checking,
digital marketing, podcasts, and cyber ​​security.
Every workshop included practical tasks, expanding participants’ skills and abilities, enriching their
knowledge.