Yerevan, December 06, Armenpress: The director of the Eurasia Foundation Armenia office, Ara Nazinian, told a last Friday news conference that the Foundation plans to provide Armenian non-governmental organizations with around $2 million grants next year. Since its inception in Armenia in 1995 the Foundation has made available some 600 grants totaling $20 million.

The bulk of that money came from the USAID, other major donors were well-known Armenian Diaspora financial organizations-Lincy Foundation, Kafesjian and Izmirlian Foundations, as well as the Open Society Institute.

In the outgoing year the Eurasia Foundation has funded 70 projects with a total budget of $1.5 million and has approved another 25 new projects worth some $600,000. Almost two third of funding goes to non-governmental organizations, active in Armenia's regions. Ara Nazinian said the policy of the Foundation is to shift the work and investments from the capital Yerevan to regions.
He said the main focus of next year's projects will be on projects of regional importance, which will cover improvement of business environment, development of local self-management bodies, improvement of conditions of local mass media and introduction of high technology in higher educational system.

Along with that the Eurasia Foundation will fund all other projects which contain innovations and tend to strengthening of democratic society.