“Innovation in Action: People First” Innovation Forum

On November 25, the “Innovation in Action: People First” public sector innovation forum was held, the purpose of which was to evaluate the efforts and achievements of public sector innovators, discuss new approaches and changes in solving the problems of the sector.

The event was organized by the National Innovation Center of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Armenia on a joint initiative of the Government of Armenia and the United Nations.

The forum participants were greeted by RA President Vahagn Khachaturyan, RA Minister of High-Tech Industry Robert Khachatryan, RA ESCS Minister Vahram Dumanyan.

RA President Vahagn Khachaturyan welcomed the activities of the SDG Center, wished success and new achievements to the employees and expressed hope that they would continue to work with the same enthusiasm and efficiency. The RA President highly appreciated the activity of the center in the field of digitalization.

“Today, your approaches at the state level in the digitalization of the state are very important. I hope that you will pay special attention to these works. And do not forget about cooperation with the Ministry of High-Tech Industry in this area, because the future of our development is in digitalization, without which we will not be able to achieve new successes,” said Vahagn Khachaturyan.

In his speech, RA Minister of High-Tech Industry Robert Khachatryan said that innovations are inevitable in today’s realities. The Minister emphasized effective cooperation with the SDG center in various areas, highlighting the participation in the process of developing the Digitalization Strategy.

“Back in 2021, Armenia’s digitalization strategy reaffirmed the commitment of the Ministry of High-Tech Industry of the RA to lead the digital transformation in the public administration system, contribute to strengthening the dialogue between the public and private sectors, and promote awareness of digital technologies,” said Robert Khachatryan. The Minister also emphasized that while developing the content of professional courses organized under the program “Cooperation between universities and the private sector in training specialists”, the Ministry also used the results of the Edu2work online platform developed by the Center based on artificial intelligence.

RA ESCS Minister Vahram Dumanyan spoke about the “State Plan for the Development of Education of the Republic of Armenia until 2030”, the core of which is the development and implementation of human capital through the promotion of knowledge and creativity.

According to the Minister, this milestone is not accidental, because for many years the policy of the Ministry was aimed at identifying and constantly developing the abilities of the individual through education. In that way, innovation is one of the most important prerequisites for significant progress and meeting the challenges of the future.

The Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Dmitry Mariyasin delivered the keynote speech. He stressed the importance of innovation in policy and political innovation for governments, and mentioned the opportunities for integrating the two to effectively manage complex systems and achieve transformative impact.

Tigran Tshorokhyan, Head of the SDN Innovation Center, spoke on the topic “Public Sector Innovation in Armenia”.

Then, in order to study in more detail the topic “Main Trends and Challenges of Innovative Activities in the Public Sector”, a panel discussion was held, in which the First Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry of the RA Gevorg Mantashyan, First Deputy Minister of Health Lena Nanushyan, Deputy Mayor of Yerevan Tigran Avinyan, Deputy Minister ESCS Zhanna Andreasyan, Head of Innovation and SDG Financing Department, UNDP Office in Armenia Tatevik Koloyan.