Vivacell-MTS: The traffic gets safer at Berdavan borderland village

3 projects for three years, with 269 LED lamps and 8.5 km long illuminated area: this is the summary of works implemented at Berdavan borderland village, under the street lighting program for 2016-2018, within the partnership between VivaCell-MTS and the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC). The partnership continued also this year. The 4th street lighting project was implemented. In 2019, with the joint efforts of partner organizations and the Noyemberyan municipality, the number of energy-saving street-lighting LED lamps has increased by another 56, illuminating five more streets, totaling to two kilometers. Owing to the implemented projects, a total of 10,5 km of road sections have already been illuminated in Berdavan. Through years of efforts, the main streets of the community, the frontier of the village, the streets leading to the kindergarten, schools and other community’s important buildings have been illuminated.

VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian, FPWC Founder Ruben Khachatryan, Noyemberyan Community Head Karen Abazyan, Berdavan administrative director Smbat Mughdusyan, and the community residents participated in the lighting system launching ceremony.

“Problems are like a swamp; the more you ignore them the more efforts they require later to solve them. If we dream of a good environment and a prosperous country, we have to strive to develop a deeper understanding of rural communities and to pay more attention to them. As opposed to cities, where problems are more exposed, the villages, particularly, those on the borderland, need more financial and psychological support. We have been in Berdavan before. We have always tried to solve the problems here by implementing continuous projects. Today we are back to celebrate the results of yet another project. I am happy to say that walking in the streets gets safer now,” VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian said.

Berdavan is one of the rare border villages in Armenia, where streets lights are on all night long. The environment friendly LED lamps also provide a stable and clean environment. The efficiency and importance of the implemented system is appreciated at the village. Community’s financial burden is alleviated. LED lamps are more efficient and durable, serve incomparably longer and consume 80% less electricity. Due to solving the lighting problem, walking around the village became safer even in the late hours of the day, which is a very important issue in the border villages.

The partners targeted the development of the infrastructure in borderland villages, within the framework of the “Eco Villages Network” project; this effective partnership is in progress in Berdavan village, Tavush region since 2015. In addition to realizing a street lighting system, other projects have also been implemented here: the kindergarten and music school in the village are provided solar heating systems.

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Eco villages network includes selected intentional or traditional communities throughout Armenia, that are consciously designed through locally owned, participatory processes to regenerate their social, cultural, economic and natural environments. The core idea behind the whole concept of the ecovillages is integrating the four dimensions of sustainability – ecological, economic, cultural and social – through integral, participatory design. The project is a new format of the long-term cooperation between the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC), VivaCell-MTS and the Global Ecovillages Network (GEN) in the field of environmental protection and sustainable use of natural resources.

The Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) was founded in Y2002. FPWC is a member organization of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) since Y2012. FPWC’s mission is to publicize the unique natural heritage of Armenia and the importance of biodiversity conservation, environmental issues and the importance of preserving nature. We aim to reduce human and wildlife conflict and its consequences to reduce the risks of endangered species of flora and fauna. Biodiversity conservation, environmental education, community development and public awareness are the main directions of our activities.

VivaCell-MTS (MTS Armenia CJSC) is Armenia’s leading telecommunications operator, having the widest network reach and spreading a wide range of Voice and Data services all across Armenia. Having the best of the Armenian people interest at heart since its launch on 1st July Y2005 and in a short period of time VivaCell-MTS has managed to build a nationwide network and a considerable customer base. VivaCell-MTS drives innovation and aims at always being at the forefront of any development serving the Armenian mobile communications market.  The company follows the guidance provided by ISO 26000 (International Standard of Social Responsibility) and ISO/IEC 27001:2013 (Information Security Management System). For more information, visit www.mts.am

Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (“MTS”) is the leading telecommunications group in Russia and the CIS, offering mobile and fixed voice, broadband, pay TV as well as content and entertainment services in one of the world’s fastest growing regions. Including its subsidiaries, the Group services over 100 million mobile subscribers in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia and Belarus. Since July Y2000, MTS’ Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol MBT). Additional information about the MTS Group can be found at: www.mtsgsm.com