Fund for Armenian Relief Embraces Technology and Entrepreneurship to Empower Displaced Women and Girls, As Main Sponsor of Gyumri Information Technology Center

Gyumri Information Technology Center (GITC) Executive Director Amayla Yeghoyan will address UN Commission on the vital role technology plays to empower women and help break the cycle of poverty in Armenia.

NEW YORK, March 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Amalya Yeghoyan, Executive Director of FAR's Gyumri Information Technology Center (GITC), will address the UN on "The Role of Technology in Empowering Women Financially" as part of the United Nations sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women on Friday, March 15th.

Ms. Yeghoyan will speak to the assembled dignitaries, politicians, and industry leaders about the success of GITC's educational and technical initiatives aimed at supporting the women who have been forcibly displaced from Artsakh and left to provide primary support for their families as a result of conflict and natural disasters. GITC provides training programs, mentorship, and financial resources to empower these women to become successful entrepreneurs, contributing to the economic development and resilience of the displaced Artsakhtsi people.

More than 200 women have gone through the program, which boasts a 50% employment rate for women who complete the certification courses. In 2023, 98% of the graduates who went through GITC's general tech coding programs are employed.

"GITC is truly a lifeline to many of these women and families in the face of an uncertain future. Learning coding, technology, business, and entrepreneurial skills through GITC can change the tide of poverty, inequality, and violence that threatens Armenian girls and women and empower them to make a positive impact on their lives, their families, and their communities," said Ms. Yeghoyan.

Leveraging Private and Public Sectors to Help Women
GITC is one of many programs of the Fund for Armenian Relief, Inc. (FAR), a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a promising future for the people of Armenia. Since its organization in 1993, FAR has implemented more than 300 relief, social, child protection, educational, economic development, healthcare, and cultural projects valued at more than $375 million.

"Financial independence is crucial to achieving gender equality and overcoming poverty in Armenia and across the globe," said Bree Carriglio, Development Director of FAR. "Working together with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MLSA) Government of Armenia in cooperation with the private sector, GITC has focused on the democratizing power of technology to help integrate women and girls into the business world and harness technology to mitigate poverty effectively."

Jack Dickranian, GITC advisory board member and engineering, technical program management, compliance & operations leader says, "It's critically important to help foster developing technology hubs like GITC because acquiring technical skills is what brings opportunity and hope in a rapidly changing world. Offering training and certification will promote job growth that helps impacted individuals and provides aid in the recovery of the region as a whole." 

About Gyumri Information Technology Center (GITC)
Headquartered in Armenia's second-largest city, Gyumri Information Technology Center (GITC) is one of Armenia's leading IT institutions, helping to transform Gyumri and the other regions of Armenia into a place of opportunity following the 1988 earthquake. GITC seeks to end the cycle of poverty and inequality by educating the next generation of coders and engineers and fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. More than 1,700 have graduated from the school's numerous training and certification programs since GITC was founded in 2005, and GITC alums continue to maintain an employment rate of more than 80 percent.

About Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR)

Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a promising future for the people of Armenia. Founded by the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) in response to the devastating 1988 earthquake, FAR was reorganized into a not-for-profit charitable voluntary organization in March 1993. Since then, FAR has implemented 300+ relief, social, child protection, educational, economic and community development, healthcare, and cultural projects valued at $375+ million.

Media Contact
Elizabeth Yekhtikian for FAR
617-686-9541
[email protected] 

SOURCE Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR)