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PRESS RELEASE
Thursday, May 20, 2004
SETRAKIAN TOURS ARMENIA
ANNOUNCES PLANS TO ESTABLISH A NEW INSTITUTE FOR DIASPORAN ARMENIANS
During his first official visit as AGBU President, Mr. Berge Setrakian
toured Armenia April 1 – 10, 2004, and held a series of meetings with
top government and church officials from the Republic and neighboring
Karabakh. He toured AGBU’s diverse array of Armenia-based projects
and announced plans for a new Melkonian center for Armenian youth
in Yerevan.
With a long record of assistance to Armenia that began with
pioneering projects of the 1920’s and 1930’s–humanitarian relief,
the repatriation of Armenians, the creation of new villages, and the
building of medical and educational institutions–AGBU continues its
contribution to the development of a strong and independent state.
Today, AGBU’s initiatives, with the generosity of its members and
donors, touch the lives of thousands and thousands of Armenians
worldwide. AGBU President Berge Setrakian’s recent trip reinforced
the organization’s interest in the development of Armenia’s spiritual,
economic and intellectual infrastructure.
TIES THAT BIND
Since the 1988 Gyumri earthquake and Armenia’s independence in 1991,
AGBU, while continuing to develop its Diasporan programs, has paid
special attention to the homeland and more recently, Karabakh.
During his visit to Armenia, Setrakian met with President Robert
Kocharian and other high ranking officials, including Premier
Andranik Markarian, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, Education and
Science Minister Sergo Yeritsian, Culture Minister Tamar Poghossian,
Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Gagik Harutyunyan, as well as the
American, Russian, French and Lebanese ambassadors. At these meetings,
the AGBU President outlined the organization’s vision to work with
local Armenians to preserve a common Armenian heritage. The government
officials expressed their appreciation for AGBU’s accomplishments
and for its important achievements and programs both in Armenia and
the Diaspora in pursuance of the organization’s goals and mission.
Continuing on his ten-day tour, Mr. Setrakian visited the American
University of Armenia (AUA), where he received a warm reception
by university staff and members of the student body. He expressed
great pride in the continuous growth of AUA since its founding as a
partnership venture of the Armenian government, AGBU and the University
of California corporation.
“I am very glad that 80 percent of AUA graduates find employment
locally and remain in Armenia. We are proud to be part of the
university,” Mr. Setrakian said at the event.
The AGBU President also met with Rector of Yerevan Medical University,
Dr. Vilen Hakobyan, and visited the state-of-the-art Ultrasound Center
(UC), which boasts an extensive training program that attracts medical
students not only from Armenia but India, Nepal, Russia, and the United
States. The UC was established jointly with the Yerevan State Medical
University and Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University through
the financial support of AGBU and the leadership of Dr. Levon Nazarian.
Mr. Setrakian paid a visit to the president of Yerevan State Univeristy
(YSU) and met with the members of the University Council. YSU Rector
Radik Mardirossian expressed his appreciation for AGBU’s continued
support of higher education in the country and the funding it provides
for various YSU’s projects.
In his remarks, Mr. Setrakian emphasized the importance of
the development and strengthening of the country’s educational
system. He said that the future of the country would be best secured
by maintaining the highest level of quality public education. Private
institutions, he added, can only compliment a more broad-based national
public educational program.
A COMMON BELIEF
Mr. Setrakian visited AGBU-funded projects administered by the Holy
See of Etchmiadzin, including St. Nersess the Great Hospital and the
various churches in the capital constructed with funds provided by
AGBU benefactors, including, St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral-the
largest Armenian church in the world.
Mr. Setrakian toured the Arapkir Soup Kitchen and Nork Childrens’
Center, which have been joint projects of AGBU and the Holy See
since their establishment in 1993 and are a part of a network of
six soup kitchens and three Childrens’ Centers. These programs
provide daily meals to more than 1200 elderly pensioners and 5,000
young Armenians the opportunity to supplement their daily education
in a number of fields including art, music, sports, and computer
science. Mr. Setrakian met with many Soup Kitchen recipients during a
lunchtime meal and listened carefully as they explained how crucial
AGBU’s help is in their lives. On the same day, the AGBU President
attended a multi-talented performance presented by the Nork Center
students.
That evening, Setrakian attended a dinner with all senior directors and
managers of AGBU-run projects in Armenia. He stressed the importance
of coordination among AGBU’s respective activities in order to create
a better synergy that would benefit all programs. Mr. Setrakian had
the opportunity to attend the premier of the “Gayaneh” ballet by
the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet, a production co-sponsored
by AGBU.
On April 4, His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians,
received President Setrakian at the Holy See of Etchmiadzin. His
Holiness thanked AGBU for its steady financial and moral support of
various projects undertaken by the Church. His Holiness expressed
satisfaction regarding the close cooperation between AGBU and the
Holy See in the areas of Christian education, church building, social
program development, and community-church relations. Setrakian shared
his thoughts about the new programs that AGBU is planning both in
Armenia and the Diaspora. He further congratulated His Holiness on
the incredible renovations that have taken place at Etchmiadzin in
recent years, the progress in the dissemination of Church teachings
among Armenians, and the level of new clergy recruitment with the
development of extensive religious educational programs.
Mr. Setrakian renewed the commitment of AGBU to continue assisting
the Church to further develop and strengthen its role in the daily
life of all Armenians.
After their audience, Setrakian accompanied His Holiness to the
AGBU-supported Vaskenian Theological Seminary in Sevan to view
first-hand the cooperation between Etchmiadzin and AGBU. Created
through the generous donations of AGBU members, the Vaskenian Seminary
is a modern facility for training and preparing future clergy to
serve Armenians around the world.
THE ROAD TO KARABAKH
While in Armenia, Mr. Setrakian made a special two-day journey
to Karabakh, where AGBU France has successfully implemented a
repopulation project–AGBU’s centennial initiative–for an enclave
still scarred by the effects of war. Along with the construction
of new homes, schools and centers for the local population, the
ambitious plan offers humanitarian and economic assistance for local
residents. Following AGBU France’s successful rehabilitation of the
village of Norashen, AGBU chapters worldwide have adopted other similar
village reconstruction projects. The Karabakh Repopulation Centennial
Project mirrors AGBU’s first accomplishments in 1906 to reach out to
the rural Armenian populations in the provinces of the Ottoman Empire.
In Stepanakert, Mr. Setrakian met with Karabakh President Arkady
Ghukassian along with Prime Minister Anushavan Danielian and Foreign
Minister Ashot Ghulian, before traveling to Shushi where he was
received by H. E. Archbishop Barkev Martirossian. Mr. Setrakian
congratulated the Karabakh administration on the modern highway,
created through Diasporan funds, that links the Republic with Armenia
through the Kashatagh (Lachin) corridor.
Setrakian toured the devastated areas and institutions that remain
damaged since the war, particularly the hospitals, schools and other
basic facilities. He also visited various revitalization projects
accomplished through AGBU funds, including a residential complex that
houses 50 families of the Karabakh war heroes and one of the main
roads of the city named after the late AGBU President Alex Manoogian.
BACK TO YEREVAN
As he concluded his trip, Mr. Setrakian made a special point of meeting
with the Armenian Writers’ Union (AWU). Levon Ananian, President of
AWU, thanked Mr. Setrakian for AGBU’s support of some of the Union’s
activities that help it to maintain the Armenian heritage.
“Today in Armenia, AGBU is implementing vital projects. We appreciate
AGBU’s attitude towards Armenian literature and Armenian writers,”
Ananian said. With a belief in cultural exchanges between Armenia
and its Diaspora, last year AGBU translated Peter Balakian’s Black
Dog of Fate into Armenian. Now with AGBU’s support, AWU has announced
more ambitious plans to publish a ‘contemporary Armenian literature
in translation’ series to expose Armenian language writing to a
global audience.
A NEW MELKONIAN FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM
Education has always been a vital component of AGBU’s mission, thus,
it came as no surprise that Mr. Setrakian chose his Armenia-trip to
announce plans to establish an Armenia-based institute for Diasporan
youth. Mr. Setrakian discussed the program with government officials
who showed great interest and pledged their assistance to the endeavor
to ensure its success. While project details have not been finalized,
the initiative, Mr. Setrakian said, would be AGBU’s latest and most
innovative venture to connect Diasporan youth with their homeland.
The proposed center to be established in the memory of the Melkonian
Brothers, according to the AGBU President, will include an educational
building, a 100-room boarding facility, a state-of-the-art Armenian
language study center, a sports complex and other facilities. It
promises to strengthen cultural bonds and create exchange programs
for Armenian youth from all parts of the Diaspora.
CONTINUED SUPPORT
After a week of meetings and surveying AGBU’s local projects, President
Setrakian summarized the organization’s work in Armenia and its
symbiotic relationship with the nation’s aspirations. He emphasized
the importance of developing and strengthening the ties between
Armenia and the Diaspora for the benefit of the future development
of the Armenian nation as a whole. He added that Armenia’s strength
and survival will provide the strongest and most vital component for
the preservation of our identity in the Diaspora.
AGBU is the largest Armenian non-profit organization and promotes
Armenian heritage around the world. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
membership organization. It was established in 1906 to preserve
and promote the Armenian identity and heritage through educational,
cultural and humanitarian programs. AGBU supports and operates schools,
centers and offices in 23 countries around the world and serves some
400,000 Armenian annually.
For more information on AGBU and its programs in Armenia, please
visit