The project was designed and implemented in response to the inflow of Syrian Armenians to Armenia following the escalation of the situation in Syria and in an effort to support their integration in Armenian society.
The Syrian Armenian refugees tstarted relocating o Armenia in early and continued with more intensity in and The annual report of the Ministry of Diaspora estimated the number of Syrian Armenians in Armenia at According to the community representatives another Both the Armenian government and the NGO sector joint forces to support the relocated refugees and their integration in Armenia.
Efforts in this direction included facilitated visa regime for ethnic Armenians, accelerated citizenship residence permits for years, training opportunities, humanitarian and medical aid, reimbursement of housing rents, psycho-social support and so on. By the end of the project over Syrian refugees had benefitted from their participation in skill courses that allowed improving their subjective well-being and their gradual integration into the Armenian society.
Over copies of brochures with information about the history and heritage of the Armenian community in Syria were published under the project to improve public understanding and acceptance of refugees that have hard time to settle in Yerevan. An additional Syrian Armenians from different age groups have attended concerts and other cultural activities within the festival.
The festival was an eight day event June 19 to 26, organized as an open creative space in the center of Yerevan. The format meant to instigate interaction, discussion and deeper mutual awareness between Syrian Armenians established in Armenia since the start of Syrian crises and the local community.
