About us

Dilijan Community Center (DCC), a project of “Scholae Mundi Armenia” Charity Foundation, was created on the basis of Dilijan Youth Center, founded in 2014 by the philanthropists Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend. It started as a platform to engage students from UWC Dilijan College with the youth in Dilijan.

Over the years Dilijan Youth Center expanded the scope of its activities – implemented numerous educational and entertainment programs, capacity building trainings and cultural events, all by the community for the community, and turned into Dilijan Community Center. As a result, Dilijan Community Center has become the pulsing heart of community activities for Dilijan.

In June 2020, Dilijan Community Center was registered as a separate legal entity: “Dilijan Community Center” NGO. The founding members of the NGO are: “Scholae Mundi Armenia” Charity Foundation, IDeA Foundation, UWC Dilijan College.

In January 2021, DCC became the 4th Center adopted by DVV International in Armenia expressing its readiness to contribute to the non-formal education of adults. DCC shares DVV International in Armenia’s conviction that non-formal education of adults encourages their participation in cultural, social and economic processes, as well as in sustainable development and poverty reduction programs.

In 2022, Dilijan Community Center expanded the scope of its activities reaching also Aghavnavank village of Dilijan community with an aim to create equal educational opportunities for everyone and promote proportional development of the community. The main educational programs offered at the Community Center located in Aghavnavank Secondary School include English, Russian, chess, art and carpet making. The beneficiaries are 100 children coming from Gosh, Khachardzan, Aghavnavank villages of Dilijan community and Dzoravank, Dprabak villages of Gegharkunik province. In addition to the main educational program, Aghavnavank Community Center also offers short-term courses, master classes, movie screenings, holiday celebrations which so far have attracted more than 240 beneficiaries.

Vision

Dilijan is a knowledge-based, participatory and inclusive community.

Mission

Strengthen the capacity of the community and encourage lifelong learning.

Values

• Equal opportunities

• Proportional development

• Public involvement

• Inclusivity

• Accountability

• Trust

• Volunteerism

Here at the Dilijan Community Center, we focus on

Change-based education

Since 2014, the Center has been offering various courses promoting change-based education, all based on the method of project-based learning, which enables students to equally develop professional knowledge, enrich their experience, get new skills and opportunities to apply them in practice.

The Center encourages lifelong learning and organizes professional development courses, professional orientation programs, capacity building trainings, information sessions, master classes, vocational courses, community initiatives, and more.

Community Empowerment

The volunteer movement of Dilijan Community Center has served as the basis of community empowerment since 2014.

The center provides the members of the movement with opportunities to discover their own abilities and interests, participate in international short-term and long-term educational programs, gain experience in various fields and invest in the development of their own community, thus contributing to the formation of a knowledge-based community.

Culture

Since 2014, the children and teenagers of Dilijan have had the opportunity to develop aesthetic taste and skills through a number of art directions: choral art, theater, dance and painting. The Center applies a holistic approach to child development.

Sport

Dilijan Community Center promotes a healthy lifestyle among the community residents. Thanks to the collaboration with UWC Dilijan, the community members have access to modern sports facilities and clubs (swimming, football, basketball, volleyball, tennis).

In addition to that, the Center implements educational and entertainment programs of other types that promote a healthy lifestyle.