Focus

Amplify, Verify, Engage

The Amplify, Verify, Engage project promotes democratic growth, participatory governance, and cross-border cooperation, by strengthening civil society and independent media across Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus.

Years active: 2021-2023

The Amplify, Verify, Engage: Information for Democratisation and Good Governance in Eurasia project builds on IWPR's previous Norwegian-supported initiatives, including the Giving Voice, Driving Change project. AVE will continue to promote democratic growth, participatory governance, and cross-border cooperation, by strengthening civil society and independent media across Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus.

Amplify, Verify, Engage (AVE) has three key objectives, through which IWPR will:

Amplify journalists and independent media voices producing verified, evidence-based reporting;
Verify reliable information by strengthening the capacity of civil society and independent media to counter misinformation and disinformation;
Engage civil society, independent media, public officials and the general public to foster increased dialogue and cooperation.

Established in collaboration with and funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the project directly supports Norwegian priorities and values, builds on long-standing Norwegian supported programming in the region, and expands on IWPR’s extensive local and regional networks of independent media and civic groups.

Latest from the project

A screenshot from Belarus' state Channel One shows the trial of human rights activists from Viasna, the country's oldest human rights advocacy group. Authorities outlawed it in 2003, but it continues to operate in exile. Viasna is one of the rights’ groups which has called on the Belarusian legislators not to pursue the withdrawal from a UN Human Rights body. © Belarus' state Channel One

Belarus to Leave UN Human Rights Body

Belarusian citizens denied justice at home may no longer be able to appeal to a last resort committee.

The town of Alaverdi in northeastern Armenia, near the border with Georgia, crossed by the Debed river. A criminal case was filed in late July, following a complaint that the river, a source of irrigation for some two dozen villages, had been polluted by Nahatak tailings. © Mania Israelyan/IWPR

Armenia: Mining Leaves Toxic Legacy

Activists call on government and local industry to respond to recent research revealing major hazards.

People who have crossed the Verkhni Lars customs checkpoint between Georgia and Russia walk in the road on September 28, 2022 in Zemo Larsi, Georgia. On September 21, President Putin announced what he described as a partial mobilisation of Russian army reservists to fight in Ukraine with 300,000 men to be called up and since then Russians have been fleeing to neighbouring countries. © Daro Sulakauri/Getty Images

New Wave of Russians Head to Georgia

As men flee Putin’s mobilisation order, simmering anti-Russian sentiment reignites.

On August 14, a fireworks storage area by the three-floor Surmalu shopping complex in central Yerevan exploded, setting off a large blaze. Sixteen people died and 60 were injured. © Armine Avetisyan

Armenia: Concerns Over Fire Safety Standards

A blast that ripped through a popular shopping centre has left key questions about accountability unanswered.

Armenians took to the street and asked the government to leave the Russia-led security bloc Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) after Yerevan’s calls for assistance in the wake of renewed fighting against Azerbaijan have fallen on deaf ears. © Ashaluis Mghdesyan

Armenians Decry CSTO Inaction

Yerevan’s calls for assistance from the Russia-led security bloc have fallen on deaf ears.

Ahmad Mammadli in a screenshot of the video filmed from a police van after his arrest. The 21-year-old chair of the pro-democracy group Democracy-1918 (D18) was detained on September 20 on charges of resisting police officers; the activist has been a vocal critic of Azerbaijani authorities' shelling inside Armenia's territory.

Anti-War Sentiments on the Rise in Azerbaijan

The recent escalation caught many by surprise, emboldening voices among the political opposition.

A village in the Leylek District of the Batken region after conflicts.

Kyrgyz-Tajik Border Violence Spurs Calls for Compromise

Complex geography and domestic politics mean a solution remains elusive.

Yepraksya Zadayan's house, in the village of Verishen, just outside the southern city of Goris, was hit by the Azerbaijani armed forces at midnight on September 12, 2022. On September 12-14 fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan resumed, nearly 300 people died over two days. © Armine Avetisyan

Comment

Armenia-Azerbaijan: The Demise of Diplomacy?

New escalation threatens the outlook for engagement, despite the clear benefits for both sides.

Thousands of university places remained vacant as Armenia recorded unprecedented low results in the admission exams. © Dato/Wikimedia

Armenian Universities’ Lost Applicants

Thousands of places remain vacant as students fail entry tests due to low quality education and fewer applicants.

IWPR ACADEMY

Newsrooms Countering Disinformation

IWPR film and online course available in seven languages is supporting young journalists across the Eastern Partnership region and Central Asia to detect and combat disinformation in their daily work.

Related Social Media pages

The Amplify, Verify, Engage (AVE) project builds on IWPR's previous Norwegian-supported initiatives, including the Giving Voice, Driving Change - from the Borderland to the Steppes project. AVE will continue to promote democratic growth, participatory governance, and cross-border cooperation, by strengthening civil society and independent media across Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus.