In this issue:

- CRRC will be a Host Institution under OSF’s Think Tank Fund Internship Program

Beginning next year, CRRC will be one of several host organizations for Open Society Foundation’s new program - Think Tank Internships for MA and PhD Graduates. The program is for citizens of Central and Eastern European, Western Balkan and the South Caucasus countries who are MA and PhD graduates and had received OSF Scholarships in 2009, 2010 or 2011, or graduated from the Central European University after 2009. Internships will commence from January 2012 and last up to six months, depending on the research topic and its scope.

- Graduation Ceremony for the Junior Fellowship Program in Azerbaijan

On October 15, 2011, CRRC-Azerbaijan organized a conference recognizing the completion of its first Junior Research Fellowship Program (JRFP). The conference featured five presentations of individual research projects by the winners of the JRFP essay contest, as well as information about the general activities of CRRC-Azerbaijan office followed by an award ceremony and lunch. More than 30 invitees attended the event, representing civil society, academia, governmental agencies, and international organizations.

- Presenting Social Cohesion in Armenia

CRRC-Armenia has recently completed a nationwide survey on Social Cohesion in Armenian Society. This project is the first comprehensive study on the subject in Armenia and was completed within the frame of UNDP’s project, "Enhancing Dialogue and Trust Building in Armenia". The project included a nationwide survey with 3,170 respondents, in-depth and expert interviews and focus groups to identify ways to improve the situation regarding social cohesion in the country.

- MYPLACE Fieldwork Starts in Georgia

CRRC-Georgia has just begun a project entitled MYPLACE (“Memory, Youth, Political Legacy and Civic Engagement”) which aims to understand the level of social activism among youth between the ages of 16 to 25 in Georgia, as well as their goals. Georgia is one of 14 countries involved in this 4-year project led by the University of Warwick and funded by the European Commission.In October, CRRC-Georgia collected empirical data for the project which included five focus groups and seven expert interviews in Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Telavi.

- UPCOMING EVENTS

 Blog highlight: Fancy Living Abroad? 39% of Young Armenians Say "Preferably Forever".

 Media highlight: United, Sort of: Survey Reveals Family Cohesion among Armenians, but Civil Involvement “Critically Low”.

 Ongoing: weekly Works-in-Progress seminars, discussing research projects and how to make them even better. Wednesday, 6:15 PM, CRRC Georgia. Check the Facebook page for more detail.

For further information: Crrc.