When British Council Armenia, funded by the European Union, launched ‘Support to Democratic Governance’ project in Armenia, the idea of social entrepreneurship did not have broad public and legislative support yet. The purpose of the project was to contribute to sustainability of NGOs by introducing the idea of social entrepreneurship.
Gohar Mnatsakanyan, President of Sevan Youth Club NGO, was actively involved in the programme activities from the beginning.
“I gained my first understanding of social entrepreneurship within this programme,” said Gohar.
After participating in the project’s courses, Gohar and her team started thinking about engaging in entrepreneurship, which provided a solution to an NGO surviving without grants.
“As a result of participating in the project, the idea for Sevan Music Festival was generated. Now this festival has become an annual event and is going to be held for the third year, each time becoming bigger and encompassing wider audiences” she said.
However, Gohar’s programmes do not end with organising the festival. Bohemia art studio teahouse social enterprise willsoon open its doors in Sevan to interested public.