Twenty-four managers from Armenia undertake PM4SD (Project Management for Sustainable Development) training and certification.
PM4SD supports UNDP tourism and development professionals in Armenia
Armenia shapes its future to be a unique sustainable destination, building capacities in effective tourism planning and management. A diverse group of tourism and development professionals from across Armenia joined a blended training program on PM4SD (Project Management for Sustainable Development). The group completed a 3-week-long tailored online training course, followed by an onsite training session in Yerevan (December 20-21), completing their training and preparation for the PM4SD Foundation certification, administered by APMG International.
Before the on-site training, on 19th December, a public event, “Armenia, the path to sustainable tourism” was organized by UNDP, with the aim of bringing key stakeholders of the tourism value chain to build a common vision and an action plan for sustainable tourism development at the destination level. The event was also the launch event for the PM4SD certification in Armenia. The PM4SD manual has been translated into Armenian as well, thanks to the support of UNDP.
“Tourism provides important opportunities for Armenia, and in particular for rural communities and undiscovered destinations, but we need to ensure tourism growth is sustainable. That’s why it’s critical to focus on training and capacity building. With many of our project managers and planners becoming PM4SD certified, we are able to create a pool of experts who will be able to deliver tangible and lasting benefits through our tourism projects.” - Arman Valesyan, Project Coordinator, UNDP Armenia Integrated Rural Tourism Development (IRTD) Project
Delivered by Jlag (PM4SD Accredited Training Organization) and TrainingAid for UNDP Armenia, this blended training program provides the opportunities for participants to apply best practices in their own project context, helping improve various local and regional projects supporting sustainable tourism development and destination management.
Photo: Integrated Rural Tourism Development Event: Discovering rural wonders at their best and delivering them to the world.
This blended training program has been delivered as part of the Integrated Rural Tourism Development (IRTD) project, which is financed by the Russian Federation and implemented by UNDP Armenia in close partnership with the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development.
PM4SD training serves the strategic action to certify sustainable management skills, supporting the long-term objective of creating sustainable, income-generating opportunities to reduce rural poverty, and to empower community members to achieve sustainable development.
“It has been great to learn about many innovative and forward-thinking project examples from across Armenia, addressing key development challenges and sustainability issues through tourism. With their newly acquired knowledge in effective project management, our training participants will be able to approach their projects in a smarter, more efficient and productive manner, focusing on making a difference for the sustainable development of rural communities.” - Silvia Barbone, PM4SD Trainer, Managing Director, Jlag
The PM4SD certification is an important benchmark for sustainable tourism practitioners, demonstrating their abilities to design innovative tourism projects and to deliver successful outcomes and lasting benefits.
About IRTD
The Integrated Rural Tourism Development (IRTD) project by UNDP Armenia offers an intervention strategy for the development of rural tourism in Armenia, with the objective of creating sustainable income-generating opportunities as a supplemental income source to bring down the level of rural poverty, contribute to equal territorial development and shape conducive environment for rural development.
Contact: Arman Valesyan, Project Coordinator, IRTD Project, arman.valesyan@undp.org
About Jlag
Jlag is a tourism consultancy specialized in the planning, developing and delivering effective and sustainable tourism initiatives. Jlag's sustainable tourism projects cover areas such as culture and heritage tourism, food travel, rural tourism development and more.
Contact: Silvia Barbone, Managing Director, Jlag, silvia@jlageurope.com
About TrainingAid
TrainingAid is an international tourism training company specialized in sustainable tourism. TrainingAid provides online, live and in-person training opportunities for tourism professionals, focused on practical skills in tourism development, management and marketing, and effective solutions for smart and sustainable growth of the tourism sector.
Contact: Ayako Ezaki, Managing Partner, TrainingAid, ayako@trainingaid.org
