"Effective partnership between government, business, media, and NGOs as the basis for an engaged citizenry and a transparent policy-making process is a cornerstone of a representative democracy." This concept was the central idea behind an advocacy conference on "The Role of NGOs in the Public Policy Process," held at the American University of Armenia between April 13 and 15. The event, sponsored by Counterpart International and its Civic Advocacy Support Program-Armenia (funded by USAID), brought together NGO representatives from all over Armenia who had come to share their experiences and expertise in four forums regarding NGO relations with Government, Business, Mass Media and the Public.

CRD/TI Armenia representatives answered questions and displayed publications, booklets, T-shirts and unique posters depicting artwork against corruption at an exposition that opened on the first day of the event. A 2007 Film Festival was also held during the conference, in which CRD/TI Armenia PSAs on corruption and environmental protection were showcased.

CRD/TI Armenia Project Assistant Irina Karapetyan took an active part in discussions covering "Government-NGO Relations: Systems Approach to the Public Policy Process," Intern Armen Boyajian participated in the "Business-NGO Relations: New Frontiers in Sustainability and Development" forum and Information Specialist Nune Aydinyan contributed to the "Media-NGO Relations: Redefining Interactions for the Public Interest" forum.

The Chairwoman of CRD/TI Armenia, Amalia Kostanyan, acted as the moderator of the "Government-NGO Relations" forum. Executive Director Sona Ayvazyan was a speaker at "Community/Citizen-NGO Relations: With the People, for the People" forum; her intervention covered the topic: "Individual case work as a way to gather policy implementation data and build a constituency."