The Armenia Legal Education and Active Participation (LEAP) program, Nov. 13, 2017-Oct. 12, 2018, supports community-oriented social justice models geared toward improving and establishing positive interactions between the community and law enforcement officials. Emphasis is placed on ensuring that the child's best interests are of paramount importance, bringing about a fundamental shift within law enforcement, regional Departments for Protection of Families, Women and Children under the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, schools, and community toward restorative justice elements, and providing capacity support to structures within the Government of Armenia to respond to the specialized needs of juveniles with delinquent behavior and self-sustain legal socialization programs and efforts.

LEAP uses an integrated approach that educates juveniles on the law and the justice sector resources available to them and builds positive relationships between juveniles and law enforcement authorities; assesses problems in the case management system for juveniles and provides recommendations for addressing these problems; provides training to school multi-disciplinary teams on how to best support juveniles in difficult life situations; provides training to Abovyan prison staff on re-entry strategies for youth offenders; and increases the sustainability of legal socialization programs and efforts in Armenia by incorporating these programs into existing structures and ministries

The purpose of Armenia CALLS is to support legal socialization reform by developing creative and proactive community-based models that 1) support Armenian communities in preventing juvenile delinquency through social justice activities for Armenian youth in coordination with the Armenian Police, schools, and communities and 2) contribute to a fundamental shift within the police, institutions administering justice, and community toward the use of alternative justice approaches for juveniles.

As its name indicates, Armenia CALLS is a call to action with an emphasis on developing a community’s sense of responsibility for its youth, leveraging resources to sustain local planning, preparing and engaging police officers as key assets in that process, and supporting the Ministry of Justice in its efforts to develop alternatives to imprisonment – especially important in reducing recidivism among youth. 

PH proposes a program that will achieve this purpose and address key concerns by building upon more than a decade of Armenia experience in community policing and support for crime prevention, juvenile justice, reparative justice approaches, youth leadership and civic engagement. Armenia CALLS emphasizes local initiatives, underscoring the responsibility and assets of local communities to better meet the needs of their youth through supported partnerships, collaboration and social initiatives. CALLS also prepares law enforcement, court actors, local organizations and the general public for effective cooperation between Armenian Police, youth, families, schools and community stakeholders on initiatives that help young people develop cognitive, social and emotional competence for preventing violence.

Armenia CALLS is funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

From 2011-13, UNICEF, within its 3-year EU-funded juvenile justice program called “Reaching Critical Mass: Consolidation of Juvenile Justice Systems Reforms against Torture and other Forms of Ill-Treatment of Children in Former Soviet Countries”, partnered with PH International to provide interim funding support for Community Justice Centers (CJCs) in Armenia. Eleven CJCs, created and maintained by local Armenian groups with support from PH International, were created as part of the ZANG legal socialization program.

1. Yerevan (capital area)
2. Vanadzor (Lori region)
3. Alaverdi (Lori region)
4. Gyumri (Shirak region)
5. Ijevan (Tavush region)
6. Chambarak (Gegharkunik region)
7. Talin (Aragatsotn region)
8. Kapan (Syuniq region)
9. Echmiadzin (Armavir region)
10. Metsamor (Armavir region)
11. Artashat (Ararat region)

These centers pursue programming that is deeply rooted in alternative justice theory. While most approaches to juvenile justice focus on punishing or treating delinquent youth, this theory emphasizes restorative justice and seeks to involve the entire community in rehabilitating offenders and holding them accountable for their behavior. By bringing together victims, offenders, families, and other key stakeholders in a variety of settings, restorative justice helps offenders understand the implications of their actions and provides an opportunity for them to establish a positive reconnection to the community. The CJC specialists (usually a psychologist, a person with formal education training background, and a social worker), law enforcement officers and community members operating the CJCs constitute a Restorative Board which develops rehabilitation plans for delinquency cases referred to the centers by the community and law enforcement officers on local level partnering with the ZANG Legal Socialization Program. The CJCs have proven to be a successful and constructive strategy for combating and correcting juvenile delinquency already identified and reported on a community or police level. They have been at the center of many local and international reports and have always received positive acclaim.

ZANG Program brochure

Program Final Independent Evaluation

The ZANG Armenian Legal Socialization Project,  funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), inroduced legal education to Armenian schools and established collaboration between educators and law enforcement professionals who work with youth. In and out of school, the program encouraged cooperative partnerships between law enforcement, educators and community organizations for positive change in areas of public safety, crime prevention, and civic society development. Among its outstanding achievements, ZANG introduced legal education curriculum in schools, introduced new concepts for prevention and restorative justice approaches, raised awareness of the broader community about juvenile justice issues, and helped create Community Justice Centers in Armenia.

Youth LAB: Turkey-Armenia-U.S. forged cross-cultural connections and fostered innovative leadership among Turkish, Armenian and American youth, nurturing a cadre of youth to become actively engaged in addressing issues of mutual concern in their schools and communities, and equipping them with the knowledge, skills and confidence to become citizen activists.. The program was funded by a grant from the Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, and was implemented by PH International and its Turkish partner, ARI Movement.

The 16-month initiative brought together 75 young leaders – 25 from each country – with creative ideas and open minds. Prior to a three-week leadership camp in the U.S., students from the three countries communicated online via a secure website and began talking with one another about leadership and change in their communities. In July 2011 all 75 students came together in Vermont for a two-week leadership camp at Sugarbush Resort, followed by a one-week homestay experience with American hosts.As part of the camp the students formed international teams to discuss, design and plan civic activities to work on in their communities after they returned home. They then spent the next four months working on these projects in their schools and communities, continuing to communicate with their peers and program coordinators as they put learning into action. In late December 2011, the students reunited in Turkey and Armenia visiting projects, communities, and expanding their cultural and leadership training.