Electionville in Armenia

Ambassador of Sweden, Patrik Svensson, Deputy Governor of Tavush Region Narek Ghushchyan and a representative of Armenian UN Association, Sona Makasyan welcomed the players with opening remarks. Community Leaders of Dilijan and Ijevan, Davit Sargsyan and Artur Jagharyan, and a number of teachers and students were present at the event.

During the game a group of young people from Tavush region tried on managing a fictional city. They formed fictional political parties, chose prioritised political areas and tried to take on the city’s various challenges by making decisions, negotiating on usage and distribution of resources and reach a consensus. The party that succeeded to allocate most resources to their prioritised political areas won the game. Furthermore, they players got a rating on how well they succeeded in ruling the city altogether.

Electionville aims to encourage players to both individually and in groups think about the dealings behind political decision-making as well as to reflect upon the fundamental needs of a local community. The game develops a sense of responsibility amongst the young generation who in future will be in charge of upholding and developing the democratic system.

At the end of the game, an expert in the field, Founder & President at Youth Cooperation Center of Dilijan NGO Artur Ghazaryan, shared his opinion and insightful comments, which were so valuable for the players.

About the game

The Electionville floor game is based on a tabletop developed by Fabel AB for the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions. The tabletop has been used nationwide by Swedish schools to strengthen knowledge about democracy and local governance. As of today, the tabletop has been produced in more than 13,000 copies and reached a number of countries including Armenia.

In Armenia the game was organized by the Embassy of Sweden in Yerevan in collaboration  with  the Armenian UN Association and the support of the Swedish Institute.