AUA Hosts College of Europe Panel Discussion on Domestic, Political, Social and Economic Developments in the Context of Current Constitutional Changes in Armenia

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YEREVAN, Armenia – On March 10th, the American University of Armenia (AUA) College of Humanities & Social Sciences hosted a student delegation from the highly renowned College of Europe for a panel discussion. Each speaker had 30 minutes to present their expertise, and was followed by a Q&A session. The concluding session, the speakers sat on a panel and took final questions from the attendees.

The event was opened with a welcome speech by Jenny Paturyan, a faculty representative of MA Program of AUA Political Science and International Affairs, followed by introductory remarks by the Chair of the panel, Tobias Schumacher, Chair-holder of the European Neighborhood Policy Chair at the Natolin campus of the College of Europe.

The first speaker, Gabriel Balayan, AUA Adjunct Lecturer, presented “The Constitutional Reforms, the Referendum of December 6th, 2015, and their implications, and the political transition”. Ruben Mehrabyan, Political Analyst at Aravot, followed with “The potential impact of the Armenian constitutional reforms on Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, and Nagorno-Karabakh”.

Lastly, “The socioeconomic situation in the light of the reforms, with an analysis of the current living conditions in Armenia” was introduced by Sevak Hovhannisyan, Partner, Head of Marketing Advisory Practice of EV Consulting.

Established in 1949, the College of Europe consists of two campuses, one in Belgium and the other in Poland. Every year, students from the Poland campus visit one or more countries of the Eastern Partnership as part of their study program. This spring, master students from all over Europe and North Africa visited Georgia and Armenia. During their visit, they held meetings with high-ranking government officials and international organizations.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides US-style education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.