Dilijan hosted the last in the series of UNDP organized concerts

On 5 May 2009 the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Armenia, within the framework of UNDP project "Music and Public Outreach in the Regions: Highlighting the Needs of the Regions through a Cultural Lens," addressed environmental issues in Tavush region through a concert and a public awareness campaign in the city of Dilijan. The performance was given by the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia (NCOA), led by maestro Aram Gharabekian.

The event in Dilijan was the last in the series. All the concerts and public awareness campaigns received an overwhelming response from the audience in Ararat, Syunik, Kotayk, Gegharkunik, Shirak and Tavush regions.

The main objective of the project is to support the revival of cultural life in the regions, break the cultural isolation and raise public awareness on the needs of communities using culture and, particularly, music as vehicle for this purpose.

The project has established an important partnership with "Shoghakat" TV Company, which is in a process of producing documentary films highlighting the needs in the regions where the concerts took place. Subjects of those films include issues related to poverty, unemployment, environmental challenges, vulnerability to disasters, gender, tolerance and human rights issues. These films will be broadcasted on one of the main countrywide TV channels. It is anticipated that these films will broaden the public awareness throughout Armenia on development challenges in the country and will ensure that the commitments by national decision-makers to address regional issues remain as priorities on the public and political agenda, even during the crisis times UNDP, together with its partners, will officially launch these films after the completion of concerts.

UNDP assists the country to identify the impact of climate change on the economy of Armenia with the intention to reflect climate change related concerns in relevant national policy. Armenia is also one of the four pilot countries for the implementation of UNDP's global project on climate risk management. In this connection the Country Office will lay particular emphasis on preparatory work for the country specific report analyzing the climate change impact on disaster risks in Armenia. UNDP works closely with the NGO sector to address environmental problems related to climate change, biodiversity, land management, persistent organic pollutants, and international waters.

In the energy efficiency field, UNDP continues activities in the development of legislative frameworks and strengthening public private partnerships to ensure the sustainability of the activities through investments. UNDP also facilitates the introduction of national integrated and coordinated environmental information management and monitoring system in order to strengthen environmental information availability and national environmental reporting capacity of Armenia.

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UNDP is the UN's global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners. UNDP in Armenia was established in 1993 and supports the Government of Armenia to reach its own development priorities and the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.