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: [email protected] or [email protected]
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October 14, 2004
Accounting for the Decade: ACNIS Releases Its New Yearbook
Yerevan — Today the Armenian Center for National and International
Studies (ACNIS) publicly presented its annual almanac, entitled
“Accounting for the Decade,” which was published on the occasion of
its tenth-anniversary celebration held last week. The event brought
together the yearbook’s participating authors, editorial staff,
publisher, and media representatives for the expression of mutual
gratitude and the sharing of views and perspectives.
Held in the official reception hall of ACNIS headquarters, the program
was opened by founder Raffi K. Hovannisian. “This unique public
accounting is a compilation of multi-disciplinary expert thought which
embraces the Center’s past track record, its agenda for the future,
analytical contributions on the current challenges of foreign and
domestic policy as well as the strategic directions of regional
security, and applied research and public opinion on political,
economic, educational, environmental, and cultural priorities,”
he said.
Hovannisian also extended his deep appreciation to the editorial
staff and contributors for their diligent work, and paid tribute
to Vrej Markosian, director of the Tigran Mets Publishing House,
for his generous, timely, and high-caliber publication of the book.
Hrachuhi Palanduzian, editor-in-chief of the new release, presented
in a nutshell the short but fruitful history of the book’s creation
and thanked her colleagues for their cooperation and professional
analysis. “Now that the book has been published I would like to
record that it was difficult but pleasant work, since we shared the
joy of communication with both our former and current associates as
a reflection of the Center’s productive activity over the past ten
years,” she noted.
Apart from addressing issues of vital national and international
importance, the main characteristic of the yearbook is the variety
of themes and genres. “An Initiative Still Underway,” “A Glance at
Ourselves and the World,” “A Phase Left Incomplete,” “Said Yesterday,
Heard Today,” “The People’s Voice,” and other chapters speak for
themselves and outline the framework of the 750-page oeuvre. The book
opens with a documentary essay, “In Pursuit of Nation-Building and a
New Political Culture,” the provisions of which are crystallized in
an ensuing interview with Raffi Hovannisian.
Among the hundreds congratulating ACNIS on its first decade of public
service, several are included in the yearbook: His Holiness Karekin II,
Catholicos of All Armenians; Prime Minister Andranik Margarian; Chief
Justice Gagik Haroutiunian of the Constitutional Court; Academicians
Fadey Sargsian, Grigor Gurzadian, and Rafael Ghazarian; world-renowned
philanthropist and long-time ACNIS supporter Kirk Kerkorian; Carnegie
Corporation president Vartan Gregorian; the Ambassadors of the
United States, Italy, Greece, and Iran; and scores of other prominent
diplomats, scientists, intellectuals, artists, and public figures.
Nearly half of the yearbook’s pages are devoted to policy-oriented
articles, in three languages, by General Arkadiy Ter-Tadevosian,
analysts Richard Giragosian, Davit Petrosian, Emma Begijanian, Aram
Haroutiunian, Alvard Barkhudarian, Sergey Shakariants, Stepan Safarian,
and Hovsep Khurshudian, philosopher Manuk Haroutiunian, economist Vrej
Jijiyan, legal specialists Hrair Tovmasian and Marat Atovmian, diplomat
Ashot Alexanian, young scholars Haik Demoyan and Suren Baghdasarian,
and natural emergencies expert Stepan Badalian. The book concludes with
a bilingual presentation of ACNIS’s public opinion surveys conducted
this year, and a list of the Center’s strategic partners from 1994
to 2004.
ACNIS director of administration Karapet Kalenchian summed up
the meeting in saluting the editorial staff composed of Hrachuhi
Palanduzian, editor Gevorg Lalayan, graphic designer Gor Grigorian,
Noune Aidinian, Lilit Alexanian, and Karine Bayakhchiants. All public
participants and invited guests then were offered complimentary copies
of “Accounting for the Decade” together with a glass of Armenian
sparkling wine.
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 Center and its publications, call (3741)
52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax (3741) 52-48-46; e-mail [email protected] or
[email protected]; or visit