AUA Faculty Attend EquaStream Project Meeting

2 min read

YEREVAN, Armenia — On June 9 and 10, the American University of Armenia (AUA) Open Center of Excellence for Leadership and Governance Chair Laura Prokic and AUA Faculty Senate Chair Dr. Rafik Santrosyan attended the first in-person meeting of the partners of the EquaStream project consortium. EquaStream is an ongoing international collaboration between AUA, Luleå University of Technology (Sweden), the University of Szczecin (Poland), and the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA). The program aims to promote gender mainstreaming in higher education institutions. 

Hosted by GIPA, the meeting took place at the Frontline Club in Tbilisi. Project partners presented the outcomes of their initial testing of a set of gender mainstreaming tools developed for use in higher education environments. Attendees discussed ways to adapt the tools to their local environment and the context of their particular institutions. The creators of one of the gender mainstreaming toolkits was present at the meeting to provide additional insights into working with these tools. There were also presentations of gender-related research by GIPA faculty, and some partners shared preliminary plans for institution-wide gender mainstreaming. 

“The meeting really took this partnership to the next level,” said Prokic. “We’ve been developing this collaboration with the other universities online for a few months now. All of the partners are passionate about bringing the gender mainstreaming perspective to our universities. Having the face-to-face interaction offered us the chance to discuss the different challenges we face when doing this work in our respective contexts and share ideas and resources. The best part of the meeting was developing the relationships with the other universities. I think we have built the basis for really strong long-term collaboration, and I am excited to see where it goes.”

This meeting and project have forged AUA’s connections with international partners from Sweden, Poland, and Georgia, setting the foundation for institutional relationships and strengthening collaborative research and scholarship. The project will continue in the fall of 2022, at which point partner institutions will

 expand the testing of these gender mainstreaming tools. The next meeting of the consortium partners will be hosted by AUA in October 2022.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.