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Sisian, Armenia

  • City population: 
    15,970
  • City/Urban area: 
    36
  • Population Density: 
    Between 300 and 500 inhabitants per km²
  • GDP - country: 
    USD$ 3,489
  • Average number of years of schooling: 
    12

Overcoming poverty through education

Sisian is located in the south of Armenia, 220 km from the capital, Yerevan. The city is characterized by its ancient petroglyphs, old monastery and beautiful Shaki Waterfall.

Vision and motivation

In a world of global enterprise and information technologies, skills and knowledge are labour market assets and education is crucial to development.

Now that the majority of its traditional industries are no longer in operation, Sisian has had to find new ways to fuel its development and provide its citizens with new opportunities through continuing education for all.

Challenges and goals

In recent years, Sisian has had few opportunities to foster education in the workplace or attract investments and input from other areas of the country, leaving it relatively isolated. Consequently, the number of people leaving the area has continued to increase since 2009.

According to official data, Sisian has the highest level of unemployment in the region, at 9.4 per cent – a figure that does not reflect the actual situation.

Plan and implementation

After analysing the situation, the municipality of Sisian and DVV International Armenia established the Sisian Adult Education Centre to fight poverty at the local level and create new educational and (re)qualification opportunities for community members. The city established courses covering a range of subjects. Acknowledging the importance of creating new educational opportunities, Sisian has pledged its support to any project seeking to develop local and regional learning processes.

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