11th European Youth Parliament for Water
During 12-19 of May 2013 the Republic of Armenia hosted 11th European Youth Parliafor Water on “Water Resource Management”.90 participants from 15 European countries (Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey) took part in the Parliament. The Armenian delegation consisted of 8 participants, of which 3 were the representatives of Country Water Partnership NGO.
The main goal of the Parliament was to discuss water resource management process and to propose possible solutions for improvement of the management process and for maxim involvement of youth in the process.
The European Youth Parliament for Water started its activities since May 13, after the official opening ceremony in the NA Session Hall under the sounds of the RA state hymn. NA deputies, representatives of state authorities and international organizations were present at the opening ceremony.
The RA NA President Hovik Abrahamyan addressed a welcoming word to the youth representing, mentioning in particular:” The youth is the motivating force of the society and the future, and its participation is very important in the search of the solutions for the world sounding problems.”
The Head of the State Committee for Water Management Andranik Andreasyan read the message by the RA President Serzh Sargsyan.
The swearing-in of parliamentarians followed the welcome speeches, during which each delegation from 15 countries in their mother tongue promised to work hard during the Parliament and to implement concrete projects on informing on the water problems after its completion.
After the official opening ceremony at the NA, 15 delegates of the participating countries met with the RA Prime-Minister Tigran Sargsyan and addressed their questions to him.
During one-week activities of the Parliament the young parliamentarians’ meeting
and discussion with the various stakeholders in water resource management took place, as well as presentation of the initial study of the Parliament participants, during which each delegation presented the processes of water resource management in their countries.
Imitating various players, the Parliament participants carried out a discussion, as a result of which it turned out obviously that water resource management represents a complex of processes closely related to each other, and that for its efficient functioning it is necessary that the system components are concerted with each other.
During the Parliament, the participants visited also the pump station in Hrazdan town, drinking water chlorination station in Dilijan town and household wastewater treatment plant in Gavar town. After the visits the participants met with the towns’ majors and spoke to the local residents on the water supply and other problems existing in the towns.
One of the main processes of the Parliament was the development of the Declaration. After representation of the development methods by the Committee established for the Declaration development, the young Parliamentarians were divided into groups to reveal the global problems specific for their countries and to propose appropriate solutions for those problems.
The delegations of the participating countries developed and presented corresponding projects, which will be implemented after the end of the Parliament.
On May 17 in Sevan the 11th European Youth Parliament hosted the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Territorial Administration Armen Gevorgyan. The Deputy Prime Minister welcomed the participants, noting that topic of the meeting is an important and urgent topic in Armenia, like in many countries. He expressed also his joy in the fact that young people are interested in such important problems and welcomed their aspiration to take part in their solution. He answered all the questions of interest to young people, which were mainly related to the water resources and their management mechanisms in Armenia.After the meeting with the RA Deputy Prime Minister the young parliamentarians completed their discussions on the Declaration developed by them and as a result of voting adopting the Declaration with overwhelming majority of votes in favor of the declaration.
On May 18 the official closing ceremony of the Parliament was held at the NA Session Hall. The ceremony was headed by the president and vice-president of the new 11th Parliament elected by the young Parliamentarians. During the closing ceremony the Declaration prepared by the Parliamentarians as a result of one-week works was officially adopted.
The Declaration emphasized the importance of introducing water management program in educational system, as well as the cooperation with different countries, which will make the joint works even more efficient.
At the end of the session the Declarationdeveloped by the young Parliamentarians was disseminated among all participants, and each of them committed to represent the Declaration to the Government of his/her country. The Armenian delegations officially submitted the Declaration to the Head of the State Committee of Water System Andranik Andreasyan, who promised that all projects included in the Declaration by the Armenian delegation would be implemented with the state assistance.