The new Winter 2013 Session of the RSC “Expert School,” featuring innovative and interactive workshops and simulation exercises, opened this past week. A new group of participants engaged in a two-part special training workshop on 17 and 19 December. The opening week started with an introductory orientation and a two-part session on “Research, Writing and Critical Analysis,” that was also bolstered by an interactive seminar based on current developments in the region.
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Those used to attending EU summits and other heads of government meetings are usually resigned to long hours of tedious negotiations and long communiques that aim to please one and all. There will be some of that in Vilnius too, but as Richard Giragosian, Director of an indepenedent Armenian think tank Regional Studies Centre says as the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union hosts the third Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, it is clear that this summit is very different.
http://commonspace.eu/eng/news/6/id2844
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In an interview with Radio France Internationale, RSC Director Richard Giragosian comments on the flawed decision by the Armenian president to forego the opportunity to initial an Association Agreement with the European Union. Giragosian pointed out that “even beyond the strategic blunder and missed opportunity that the Armenian decision demonstrates, the move also reveals a deeper deficiency in the decision-making process, which in this case, was conducted with no real study or analysis of the implications and reflected a flagrant disregard for either sound public policy or serious public opinion.” The RFI interview, broadcast in French, was the lead in to a story focusing on the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit, but part of a larger segment on Syrian refugees in Europe.
http://www.rfi.fr/emission/20131127-refugies-syriens-mais-fait-europe
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In a largely unexpected development, on September 3, 2013 Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian announced a dramatic U-turn in Armenian policy. While in Moscow, after being summoned to a meeting with his Russian counterpart, the Armenian president promised Russian officials that Armenia would join the Russian-led "Customs Union," and would support Moscow's efforts to "integrate" the former Soviet space. That decision effectively ended Armenia's planned "initialing" of an Association Agreement and related Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with the European Union set for the Vilnius Summit in late November 2013.
http://www.ge.boell.org/web/110-1601.html
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Do you like to be challenged? Do you enjoy learning? Then join us on Tuesday, 17 December for the long-awaited start of the Winter 2013 Session of the RSC “Expert School,” featuring innovative and interactive workshops and simulation exercises.
We will be offering two special training workshops on Tuesday, 17 December, and on Thursday, 19 December, from 19:00-21:00. The opening week will start with an introductory orientation and a two-part session on “Research, Writing and Critical Analysis,” with an interactive seminar based on current developments in the region.
Please note our new venue: we will be meeting in the RSC Conference Room, located on the fourth floor of the Griar Business Center, at 4/6 Amiryan Street in Yerevan. For more information, email us at: