The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative has announced a fundamental upgrade of its Artsakh Aid program, which from now on will be focused on assisting projects that support and facilitate the region’s long-term social development. The program, launched by Aurora in the aftermath of the war, had earlier been providing urgent humanitarian aid to the people of Artsakh on the basis of the #AraratChallenge crowdfunding initiative. In addition, the Aurora Co-Founders Noubar Afeyan, Vartan Gregorian and Ruben Vardanyan have donated on behalf of Aurora $1 million to Hayastan All Armenian Fund for Artsakh aid programs.
This new stage will be characterized by a shift towards sustainability, intended to ensure long-term impact, and will include funding projects that support micro and small enterprises, restore infrastructure, and boost economy. In the meantime, the Initiative remains committed to preserving and promoting Armenian legacy in the region and will also keep on assisting projects that provide direct aid to the underserved communities in Artsakh.
“Following the ceasefire established between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Aurora played an important role in providing immediate relief to the Armenians of Artsakh facing a grave humanitarian crisis. Today, strategic solutions are needed on the ground, and we are very excited to be one of the first to bring long-term social development back to the agenda and to support the projects that fuel it,” said Narine Aghabalyan, Head of Aurora’s Artsakh program.
Having already acted as one of the key humanitarian leaders of the region, Aurora plans to bring the Initiative’s partners together to share best practices at a conference that will be organized in April, as well as to engage experts from the Armenian Diaspora and to contribute to the development of a humanitarian platform designed to connect all stakeholders under the auspices of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. Since the launch of its humanitarian aid program for Artsakh, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative has already allocated a total of $581,740 (300,660,500֏)to support fifty-seven local and international projects.
