KNOWLEDGE AND KNOWHOW FOR DEVELOPMENT

In addition to its sector programs in education, healthcare and tourism, the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia develops programs aimed at promoting competitiveness through increased access to knowledge and knowhow. Initiatives designed to strengthen telecommunication infrastructures, increase Armenians' network literacy and knowledge of strategic foreign languages, and mobilize expertise through global networks will significantly impact competitiveness across sectors.

FRONTRUNNER: BROADBAND ARMENIA

The Broadband Armenia Project is a major new initiative which aims to extend network penetration and lay the foundations for ubiquitous, reliable and affordable internet throughout Armenia. It will extend high-performance internet infrastructure to the regions and will build more robust links with international backbones. The project will develop public-private partnership models to mobilize financing, creating an even playing field for providers of content, applications and services.

STRATEGIC LANGUAGE INITIATIVE

The goal of the Strategic Language Initiative is to achieve a significant and rapid increase in the proficiency of Armenians in languages that have strategic importance for competitiveness. English is the first priority as the predominant language in an international setting, followed by other languages such as Russian and Mandarin. This initiative, which is currently in its conceptual stage, will seek to identify the optimal targets of Armenia's linguistic policy, the existing gaps, and mechanisms for closing them.

PAN-ARMENIAN NETWORK

The flow of ideas, knowledge and expertise within the Armenian World - between the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian diaspora, and among the various communities of the diaspora itself - remains a largely unexploited resource. This resource holds great potential for national competitiveness and is the target of the Pan-Armenian Network, a project undertaken by the National Competitiveness Foundation of Armenia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Diaspora and other stakeholders. The project aims to mobilize non-financial resources and potential investments.

WORLD.AM

A related longer-term initiative which is currently in its conceptual stage is the creation of an online network with the possibility of becoming the web presence of the Armenia World. This forum would serve as a platform for sector-specific activities including tourism, education and healthcare. It could also take on the function of a social network, as well as a civic forum for pan-national issues. The World.am platform has the potential to become the larger framework for other national initiatives such as the Pan-Armenian Network.

ENGAGEMENT THROUGH SUPERVISORY BOARDS

One of the forms of productive engagement across the Pan-Armenian Network is the involvement of specialists and prominent community representatives in project-specific supervisory or advisory boards. The Broadband Armenia Project presents such an opportunity, as do the frontrunner projects of the Competitiveness Foundation in targeted sectors: the Convergence Center in education, the Nuclear Medicine Project in healthcare, and the product development and promotion initiatives in tourism.