Albert Ananyan ’24 has been awarded a Projects for Peace grant to undertake a project in Armenia in summer 2023. Ananyan, a political science and international studies major from Armenia, was selected for a $10,000 grant to undertake a project titled, “DiliKar: a light industry training and capacity-building center for Artsakh Refugees.”
Projects for Peace, headquartered at Middlebury College, will fund 126 projects from 92 partner institutions this year. The program was started in 2007 by Kathryn W. Davis, and Trinity College students have undertaken Projects for Peace each year since.
In his proposal, Ananyan wrote about the needs of the refugee community in the Dilijan Enlarged Community in Armenia, where his project will take place: “According to the UNHCR, about 40 thousand Artsakh refugees remain in Armenia … The situation is especially critical for refugees settled outside of Armenia’s capital [where they] suffer more from unemployment.”
Ananyan will create and run a pilot textile entrepreneurship training center in Dilijan this summer. “Dilikar is a pilot capacity building project that aims to facilitate the process of economic and social integration of Artsakh refugees … by fostering textile-oriented entrepreneurship,” Ananyan writes. “From June to August, four times per week the center will host various trainings, workshops, and panels.”
Ananyan hopes the training center will not only help refugees gain transferable skills in entrepreneurship, textiles, and business management, but will also function as a community center where refugees can socialize, develop networks, and restore their sense of belonging.
Ananyan is uniquely qualified to undertake this project. Through participating in social entrepreneurship trainings and competitions as well as working in marketing and sales for companies in Armenia and the US, he has developed a network of contacts who will help in organizing trainings for the refugees. Ananyan’s dedication to supporting Artsakh refugees stems from a deep personal connection to their struggles; his own family’s displacement from Artsakh Republic to Dilijan has given him a unique perspective and empathy towards their psychological state. Over the past two years, he has actively worked on projects aimed at supporting and assisting Artsakh refugees.
Ananyan will present to the Trinity College community about the project next academic year.
Projects for Peace is among the student research and engagement grants administered by the Center for Urban and Global Studies. For more information about Projects for Peace at Trinity, contact Associate Director of Grants and Fellowships Mark Hughes or Assistant Director of Urban Engaged Learning Gabby Nelson.
