Visit to Masis community to get acquainted with the results of the “Resilience for All” project
January 22, 2025

On 17 January, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Armenia, Berglot Hovland, and the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Armenia, Konstantin Sokulsky, together with the delegation from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), visited the Masis community to get acquainted with the implementation process of the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) component of the “Resilience for All” project, which was funded by the NORAD.
The guests met with the First Deputy Mayor of Masis community, Norayr Hakobyan, and the Director of the “Masis Information Technologies Development” Foundation, Alik Ohanyan, who also coordinates the activities of the Volunteer Rescue Team of the Masis community.
The First Deputy Mayor expressed gratitude for the implementation of the project, highlighting the need for its implementation, since the consolidated Masis community is located in an active seismic zone and is an affected community in case of damage to the Azat, as well as Akhuryan and Aparan water reservoirs.
Norayr Hakobyan also added that the Masis community has provided shelter to more than 14,000 refugees, and the implementation of the project is also important from the perspective that it contributes to increasing the refugees' capacities to withstand disaster risk and is an important component in reducing their vulnerability.
At the Community Resilience Center, which was formed as a result of co-financing with the Masis community, the guests met with the Community Resilience Team and representatives of the Volunteer Rescue Team formed within the framework of the project, who were actively involved in the development of the community's DRM plan, the formation of a volunteer team, the re-equipment of the warning system, and other processes.
Alik Ohanyan noted that as a result of the project, 40 warning systems were reequipped, which were integrated into the national and regional warning management systems, a phone application was developed, which will be used to warn the population and provide feedback, as well as a community Volunteer Rescue Team was established, which will support the community in the processes of responding to DRM issues and emergency situations.
At the end of the meeting, the First Deputy Mayor of the Community highlighted the continuity of the project and expressed hope that there will be further cooperation, noting that the Masis community is ready to develop the recorded achievements.
Ambassador Berglot Hovland and the members of the delegation noted that they were impressed by the project results. They highly appreciated the effective cooperation between UNDP and Masis municipality, expressing hope that the project will have continuous nature.