RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan visited the territory of the Cultural Development Foundation, located on the 8th floor of the National Gallery of Armenia, and got acquainted with the working conditions and the course of the structure's activities.

ESCS Deputy Minister Alfred Kocharyan also participated in the visit.

Touring the area, the minister inquired about the staff's activities, current issues, attitude toward working in a new setting, and other matters.

According to Zhanna Andreasyan, through the launch of the Cultural Development Foundation, an attempt is made to increase the efficiency of museum administration. Specifically, it is planned to delegate the administrative and economic management of museums operating under the ESCS Ministry to the Foundation.

“We highlight the significance of a unified marketing policy for museums, which will contribute to enhancing the visibility of museums and stimulate an increase in the number of visitors. The Foundation is currently developing branding and marketing strategies for some museums. There is still a lot of work to be done in this direction, but in the near future, we will see the first results of the new marketing policy. A separate and important part of the new policy is considered to be a more coordinated organization of souvenir sales in museums, and opportunities for cooperation with the private sector are also being considered in terms of re-planning the production and sale of souvenirs,” stated Zhanna Andreasyan, adding that the relevant legal regulations have already been provided for this purpose.

According to her, souvenirs, sold in museums, are produced in accordance with the cultural values ​​they preserve, therefore they also serve to popularize museum collections. A separate section for souvenir sales will also operate in the museums' unified e-ticketing system.

The Minister also highlighted the activities of the Cultural Development Foundation from the perspective of fostering international collaboration between museums, pointing out that joint exhibitions and various programs with renowned museums are being planned in this regard.

The discussion also covered the Foundation's current and long-term development programs and provided an overview of the work carried out in their direction.