Each year, the European Association for Educational Research (EERA) organizes the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) in a member country, bringing together over 2,000 delegates from 43 nations. It is one of the most important events in the field. In 2022, the conference took place in Armenia at Yerevan State University.
In 2024, ECER was held in Nicosia, Cyprus, from August 26 to 30, under the theme "Education in an Age of Uncertainty: Memory and Hope for the Future". This year, approximately 2,500 participants attended the conference. Among them were Yuliana Melkumyan, Head of the Chair of Social Work and Social Technologies at the YSU Sociology Faculty, and Associate Professor Nvard Melkonyan, who presented their research titled "War as a New Real for Helping Professions: the Education Trends in the Context of Continuous Crisis". This study, conducted from 2020 to 2024, highlights the urgent need to expand qualifications and update educational programs to help professionals effectively address today's multifaceted crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the 44-day Artsakh war.
Their findings were shared during a panel discussion on August 28, which was moderated by Anna Aleksanyan, Associate Professor at the University of Graz, Austria. Other speakers included Heike Wendt (University of Graz), Joanna Madalinska-Michalak (University of Warsaw), Zahra Hashimi (Afghanistan), founder of Omid Online School, and Oksana Zabolotna (Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University, Ukraine). This panel was among the most attended sections of the conference.
In addition to their presentation, Nvard Melkonyan and Yuliana Melkumyan participated in several other events throughout the conference.
