MoU Signed Between Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport and “ASA Advocacy Society for the Arts”
March 17
On March 16, ASA and the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Armenia signed a memorandum of understanding as part of a strategic cooperation to develop the cultural and creative sectors.
Signed by Minister Zhanna Andreasyan and the organization’s President Seda Grigoryan, the memorandum establishes joint actions in research, policy development, capacity building, and international cooperation, with particular emphasis on the importance of building a fair, transparent, and data-driven creative ecosystem.
Minister Zhanna Andreasyan highlighted the importance of signing the memorandum as another example of public–private sector cooperation, expressing confidence that it will contribute to opening new prospects for the development of culture and the creative industries in Armenia.
The memorandum reflects months of joint work and discussions. The study, focused on cultural decentralization, was discussed extensively with the Ministry and with local and international experts at the ASA Forum 2025. At the forum, the head of the Audience Agency — ASA’s British partner and the organization conducting the research—presented a report on audience studies. These discussions and findings paved the way for closer cooperation with the Ministry, now formalized in the memorandum.
Research, Policy, and Legislation
According to the memorandum, one of the main areas of cooperation is the development and implementation of research projects, including but not limited to the analysis of the nature, forms, and accessibility barriers of cultural consumption. These will later serve as a basis for shaping more inclusive and data-driven cultural policy.
ASA’s local and international experts will be involved in strategic, research, and capacity-building efforts, as well as in the development of legislative initiatives aimed at strengthening artists’ rights, improving working conditions, and advancing the creative industries.
The Ministry undertakes to ensure access to existing databases and analytical information, as well as to involve other state bodies in the cooperation process, and expresses its willingness to engage in open dialogue with the professional community and civil society.
Digital Platform and Open Dialogue
An important direction of cooperation is the promotion of the digital platform (www.asaarmenia.org) created by the Advocacy Society for the Arts, as a unified online community for artists, NGOs, state institutions, educational institutions, and international partners. The platform enables data exchange, providing consultations, and collaboration with the expert community.
The memorandum also establishes mechanisms for open dialogue, aimed at collecting the needs, proposals, and solutions of artists and the wider community, providing feedback, and effectively representing them in policy decisions.
Study of Cultural Consumption in Armenia
The project aims to identify the current state, trends, and key issues of cultural consumption in Armenia, with a comparative perspective between the capital and regional communities, as well as between urban and rural areas.
The research is conducted by the Advocacy Society for the Arts, commissioned by the Ministry, with the support of the Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s ArtNexus program and the British Council Armenia, in cooperation with the Cultural Development Foundation of Armenia and The Audience Agency, a think tank specializing in audience studies.
The Audience Agency, based in the United Kingdom, is one of the leading organizations in cultural research and policy worldwide. It has developed the widely recognized segmentation methodology Audience Spectrum, as well as research tools such as Audience Answers, which enable large-scale analysis of cultural engagement.
