AZG Armenian Daily #110, 16/06/2005
Education
ARMENIA HAS RICH HISTORY OF VISUAL ARTS
New Generation Should Be Educated
“They don’t treat photojournalism seriously in Armenia but I think
that we and the future students will change the situation,” Arthur
Torosian, photojournalist said. He is one of the nine photographers
that graduated from the Photo Classes organized by the Caucasian Mass
Media Institute and the World Press Photo NGO. The graduate students
received the relevant diplomas of both organizations.
Ruben Mangasarian, head of “Patker” Photo Agency, was the first to
deliver professional classes on photojournalism in Armenia. The
classes lasted nine months. The specialists of World Press Photo
held three seminars within the framework of the classes. “I learnt
much from the classes. We were studying not only the inner but also
the foreign market”, Artur Torosian said. Thus, it is for the first
time that photographers with diplomas will work in Armenia. Such a
thing should have been organized earlier.
Photojournalists not only from Armenia but also from Georgia and
Byelorussia participated in the classes. The organizers said that
this is an unprecedented program in the territory of the CIS and it
aims at contributing to the development of photojournalism. Besides
the practical aspect, the students studied the history, genres, of
photojournalism, contemporary photojournalism and the new trends in
the sphere. Photojournalist Karen Mirzoyan is glad that these classes
gave the opportunity to many photojournalists to work together and,
as a result, they all were striving to achieve more and more goals.
The exhibition of the graduate students’ works was included in the
graduation ceremony. The participants of the program represented the
everyday life of national minorities in Tallinn, the capital that
is undergoing constant changes and is losing its historical face,
a common Armenian village with its residents.
Maarten Koets, responsible for the educational programs of the World
Press Photo, believes that Armenia has a rich history of visual
arts and that everything should be done to educate new generations
of photojournalists. The two organizations signed an agreement on
cooperation for at least two years. Maarten Koets informed that in
October a new group of students will be formed and the Caucasian Mass
Media Institute will continue the lectures.
“We work in the countries where there is lack of education on
photojournalism. We are delivering classes in four countries —
Armenia, Indonesia, Nigeria and Tanzania. The results of the Armenian
students exceeded all our expectations,” Mr. Koets said.
By Tamar Minasian