On November 15, the future (candidate) Erasmus Student Network Yerevan team, with the support of the National Erasmus+ Office in Armenia, organised  a webinar on “Optimal human behavior in the crisis situations” with a leading expert in crisis psychology and an active member of “Armenians of Ukraine” civil platform Mr. Tygran Grygorian.

NEO Coordinator Lana Karlova welcomed Armenian students and new members of ESN Yerevan candidate network and encouraged their active participation in the online event. She also highlighted the importance of addressing psychological needs of young people in times of crisis and thanked the guest expert for his time and availability. 

During the webinar Mr. Grygorian shared with the participants different methods of ensuring psychological stability in a post-war country, talked about the threat of crisis related to COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on youth, as well as named the possible ways to prevent them. The expert stressed the role of education in the further development of Armenia, the students were also provided with pieces of advice (for e.g. keeping online time under control, balancing online and offline activities, spending time in nature, etc.) on how to develop productivity during distance learning processes and adapt to the pandemic lockdowns. 

In a post webinar interview to AnalitikaUA, Tygran Grygorian shared his impressions of the meeting: 

“I have a very favorable impression of the interactive communication with students and members of this international student organization in Armenia. The most important thing is that this program [Erasmus+], in addition to high-quality education, makes it possible to make friends with young people from all over the world. During their studies, students discover the great multiculturalism of the world, learn to respect the mentality, culture and customs of representatives of different countries and, what is important, in this digital era, they make real friends in foreign countries.

Tomorrow, the same youth who participates in decision making in their countries will treat the representatives of neighboring countries with greater humanity and understanding. And I am very impressed that students understand how important it is to be  part of the modern world, to get a decent education despite geopolitical challenges and all those negative events that Armenia has to gone through in the still post-Soviet space with a very high level of turbulence and unpredictability, ”

At the end of the meeting, the participants and the speaker expressed hope that their communication will continue and will be fruitful for both sides.