UNICEF and the Austrian Development Agency announce new cooperation to empower youth and communities in Armenia to become climate resilient

Through this programme, ADA and UNICEF, in cooperation with Ministry of Environment, Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Ministry of Health and a number of other governmental and civil society partners, will improve child and adolescent-centric approaches to climate and environment related strategies and policies, strengthen the capacities of consolidated communities in inclusive and risk-informed climate action, and empower adolescents to get green skills and engage meaningfully in climate action. 

“The increasing frequency and severity of climate-induced extreme events and disasters, along with environmental risks like air pollution whose impact is exacerbated by higher temperatures, pose significant threats to the fundamental rights and well-being of children in Armenia,” noted UNICEF Acting Representative Silvia Mestroni. “Through this cooperation, we will act in multiple inter-linked directions at national and local level, resulting in longer-term social change that respects children’s right to grow up in a healthy environment.”

UNICEF will work with partners to revise key climate change-related national policies and plans to be child-centric and inclusive, develop an action plan for the implementation of commitments under the Declaration on children, youth and climate action, which Armenia signed in 2023, as well as research climate-induced illnesses and develop a standardized subnational climate and disaster risk assessment model.

Twenty consolidated communities with approximately 300 settlements across Armenia will be supported to conduct climate risk assessment and reflect subsequent response actions to identified vulnerabilities in the community development plans and budgets. At the local level, partners will also contribute to improve climate change education, support adolescents and young people to come up with innovative solutions and initiatives to mitigate the consequences of climate change. 

This 2024-2027 cooperation will build on the achievements and lessons learned of the previous programme between ADA and UNICEF in 2020-2023 that helped to build the capacity of over 400 teachers from 33 communities in project based learning on climate change, implement more than 275 local environmental projects by 2,015 students overseen by their teachers, as well as institutionalise climate change education in the national curriculum and support 31 consolidated communities (with 365 settlements) to asses local climate risks through a child sensitive risk management methodology.