Model Caucasus Parliament

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Dialogue, tolerance and respect for the opinions of others constitute the foundations of democracy. At the same time, intolerance and lack of communication often lead to impasse and conflict, thereby jeopardizing democratic development. To increase the role of emerging young leaders from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in propagating democratic values and positive change in the South Caucasus, EPF been supporting a regional civil society consortium comprised of the Forum for XXI Century Leaders Youth NGO (Armenia), the National Committee of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly (Azerbaijan), and Movement for the Future Union (Georgia) to undertake a “Model Caucasus Parliament” project.

The program exposes youth from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia to the global values of democracy and leadership, increases their knowledge of and interest in the European tradition of parliamentary democracy, as well as establishes cross-border partnerships and networks among the participants. The program targets those young people who demonstrate interest in international cooperation, and are likely to become opinion leaders, decision-makers, or simply active citizens in their communities.

The program will include a series of regional pre-simulation workshops, each for a group of 45 emerging young leaders from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia (15 participants from each country), as well as a model parliament simulation workshop in Strasbourg, France. The pre-simulation workshops are designed to represent an interactive learning environment. They will introduce the participants to parliamentary work and legislative procedures, followed by a series of skills-building activities in leadership, public speaking and debate, and coalition building.

The first pre-simulation workshop for the first group of 44 participants was held at the European Institute of the Bilgi University, Istanbul, Turkey on February 2-7, 2009. The workshop was officially opened by Dr. Ayhan Kaya, the Director of the European Institute at Bilgi University, who welcomed the participants and talked about the power of discourse in building a more secure and prosperous Caucasus, as well as about the role of the “new leaders” present in the process.

According to Giorgi Nebieridze, one of the leaders of the project, “This interactive educational activity provided an opportunity for participants to both replicate the work of the parliament and to view the problems facing the broader regional/international community from a unique perspective. The simulation exercises served as a flexible vehicle for participants to pursue their interests and deliberate on various topics. That was very helpful and empowering both in the context of improving skills, as well as understanding issues of common concern, such as democratic freedoms, free and fair elections, and sustainable development.”

Echoing Giorgi, Marine Dadzhunts, a participant from Armenia, put a note in the program’s online forum reading “I want to express my deepest gratitude to the MCP team and the sponsors for such an amazing trip and learning experience. Those 6 days exposed us to a whole new world, a world which includes a possible prosperous future for the South Caucasus!”