From the Borderlands: Chinari, Artsvaberd, Sevkar, Zangakatun villages as Models of Equitable Educational Development

The schools in Armenia’s border villages are more than educational institutions—they are lifelines of opportunity, resilience, and hope. For the Visual Armenia Foundation, supporting these communities has always been a mission rooted in equity. Whether a school is one hour or six hours from Yerevan, every student deserves an environment that nurtures their potential and sparks their curiosity.
During recent regional visits, our team observed classrooms in the border communities of Chinari, Artsvaberd, Sevkar, Zangakatun, and beyond. Once again, we witnessed the strong appetite for innovation and the remarkable capacity of these schools to integrate modern tools into daily learning.

“Yes, our school faces many challenges—but children today need wings. They need a space that inspires them to dream, to strive, to soar. We deeply value both the WorldView program and the smart board. All our teachers are involved, and the children are engaged. The smart board has become the beating heart of our school,” says Siranush Uzunyan, principal of Artsvaberd Secondary School, which stands proud on a distant mountaintop—dignified and visible from afar.

Hratsin Aperyan, a history teacher at Chinari Secondary School, shares: “WorldView isn’t just a platform—it’s a gateway. It helps us nurture the competencies outlined in the national curriculum, conduct more student-centered lessons, and meet the needs of 21st-century learners. It has given me, my students, and our village the confidence to be seen as capable and competitive within the educational system. My students and I truly love WorldView.”

The Foundation’s team visits both schools that have earned smart boards through our competitive program and those that access the WorldView educational platform through other means—computers, projectors, or mobile phones. These visits—always greeted with warmth and sincerity—reaffirm a powerful truth: innovation belongs everywhere. For the Visual Armenia team, making the most of these visits has become a shared mission and a timely necessity.

“We don’t yet have a smart board, but if the program continues, we’ll apply. Several schools in our region have already succeeded. In the meantime, we actively use the WorldView platform. I share my computer with the students—they’re all registered—and we frequently use the platform on their phones. Even their homework gets done there. WorldView offers rich content and powerful tools that allow us to build lessons that are both meaningful and methodologically strong,” says Lilit Harutyunyan, history teacher at Dilijan Secondary School No. 5.