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From: ACNIS Info <info@acnis.am>
Subject: ACNIS Marks Tenth Anniversary
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PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 375033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 1) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 1) 52.48.46
E-mail: root@acnis.am or info@acnis.am
Website:

October 5, 2004

ACNIS MARKS TENTH ANNIVERSARY

Raffi Hovannisian and Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja Keynote Gala

Yerevan–The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS),
an institutional pioneer of independent policy research and analysis in the
post-Soviet space, celebrated its tenth birthday today with an official
banquet at the Armenia Marriott Hotel.

The gala event brought together public figures, ambassadors, heads of
diplomatic missions and international organizations, scholars and
intellectuals, businessmen, media and NGO representatives, the Center’s
former and current employees, and contributors, associates, friends and
supporters from Armenia and the Diaspora.

A complete exhibit of the Center’s publications from 1994 to 2004, including
occasional papers, monographs, yearbooks and special publications, was on
display in the foyer of the “Tigran the Great” ballroom, where the
festivities took place. The participants were presented with complimentary
copies of the Center’s newly-released jubilee volume entitled “Accounting
for the Decade,” encompassing a survey of its first decade of public service
and featuring Center activities, analytical articles, congratulatory
messages, public opinion polls, and an interview with founder Raffi K.
Hovannisian.

Raffi Hovannisian, the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of the new Republic
of Armenia, welcomed the invited guests. Recalling that the fifth
anniversary of the Center, scheduled for October 29, 1999, did not take
place because of the national tragedy in parliament, Hovannisian invited a
moment of silence to remember the victims of October 27, the national heroes
and unknown soldiers who fell on Armenia’s road to freedom and independence,
as well as departed Center employees Tigran Hairapetian, Bagrat Sadoyan,
Valeri Aidinian, and Ashot Khalatian.

After the invocation and blessing of the table by Bishop Navasard Kjoyan,
Prelate of the Araratian Diocese, Raffi Hovannisian remarked: “The Armenian
Center for National and International Studies and its first ten years have
been committed to the cause of institution-building and, often against the
odds, to the forging of an infrastructure for a new political culture in
which the free competition of ideas reigns within a national framework, and
where rational and national policy options are sought in the domestic and
international arenas through the creation of a comprehensive policymaking
system for the Republic of Armenia and the nation entire.”

At the end of his opening presentation, Hovannisian expressed words of
gratitude to the Center’s supporters in Armenia and around the world, its
past and present employees, its colleagues and critics, and all those owing
to whom the Center at ten is sound, solid, self-confident and at once
self-renewing. On behalf of all ACNIS stakeholders, Noune Aidinian, a
long-time Center executive, was noted for her decade of professional
dedication.

Armenian duduk melodies, performed by distinguished artist Gevorg Dabaghian,
complemented the supper service with nourishment for the soul.

Raffi Hovannisian then introduced His Excellency Erkki Tuomioja, Minister
for Foreign Affairs of Finland, who delivered the keynote address on
“Security in the Globalizing World.” In his vision, modern nations can
profit from globalization through mutual integration and simultaneous
maintenance of national identity, whereas isolated countries or marginal
groups might themselves come to constitute the cause for security dilemmas.

“In a globalizing world, we all are more and more dependent on each other,
which leads to closer cooperation between states than ever before,” the
Minister asserted. “The European Union is developing and responding to new
challenges and how we in Finland see security in today’s world. The newly
independent states in the Western Balkans and in the former Soviet Union
have unfortunately not developed without difficulties. We have witnessed
many armed conflicts and even war both inside and between countries, with
great losses and human suffering. Both old and new threats have escalated,
especially terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
but also issues such as ethnic intolerance, environmental threats,
pandemics, drugs, cross-border organized crime and uncontrolled migration.
According to the Security Strategy, the EU needs to be more active in
pursuing its strategic objectives. It also needs to be more capable, more
coherent and work in close cooperation with partners. These principles apply
to the full spectrum of instruments for crisis management and conflict
prevention at the EU’s disposal, including political, diplomatic, military
and civilian, trade and development activities. The Union is not and will
not become a military great power, but it can become an effective actor in
conflict prevention and crisis management.”

In a musical interlude, the guests then enjoyed Shoghakn folk ensemble
soloist Hasmik Harutiunian’s vocal offering of “Lullabye Medley,” “Love
Ballad of Van,” and “Homeland.”

The evening concluded with a moving public rendition of the Armenian
National Anthem, and evening enjoyment provided by folk-jazz pianist Vahagn
Hairapetian and his friends.

Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS serves
as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy challenges
facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet world. It also
aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic thinking and a wider
understanding of the new global environment. In 2004, the Center focuses
primarily on public outreach, civic education, and applied research on
critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the state and the nation.

For further information on the celebration and a related photo display, call
(3741) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax (3741) 52-48-46; e-mail root@acnis.am or
info@acnis.am; or visit

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress