The Yearly Caucasus Conference is a trademark event that the CI has held starting 2003. It takes place in Yerevan – a central location with easy access for participants and the media. The conference is a major event that brings together experts from the region and abroad to sum up the previous year’s developments in the Caucasus. Specifically, the speakers analyze the political, societal, and economic trends in the three countries and de-facto states of the South Caucasus, and in the North Caucasus. Traditionally, the conference has speakers from all three countries of the South Caucasus, plus guests from Europe, the US, the UK, Turkey and Russia, who speak about the role played in the region by key
external actors in that particular year. It is the only event of this kind held in Armenia or the Caucasus; its importance is in its regularity, its scope and the high profile of local and international speakers and participants. Over 150 people participate in each conference, including scholars, civil society actors, civil servants, diplomats, IO staff, journalists and students. The proceedings of the conferences are
published in Caucasus Yearbooks. In the course of over 20 years, the Conference has been made possible due to the support from the CI partners, including the British Embassy in Armenia,
Gebert Ruef Foundation, Switzerland, the Embassy of Switzerland in Armenia, the Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency, the European Union, the Heinrich Boell Foundation, the OSF Think Tank Fund, the Academic Swiss Caucasus Net, the Eurasia Partnership Foundation, the National Endowment
for Democracy and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.