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PRESS RELEASE
Friday, July 8, 2005
AGBU Swiss Chapter Accompanies Geneva Canton Delegation to Armenia
Geneva, Switzerland – The Swiss Chapter of AGBU accompanied the
Minister of Education of the Geneva Canton, Mr. Charles Beer, to
Armenia from April 24 to 28, 2005. Mr. Beer’s trip to Armenia was his
first ever and he was accompanied by two assistants, Ms. Vanessa
Mengel and Ms. Ivana Vrbica.
Minister Beer, great grandson of Rostom Zorian, one of the founders of
the Armenian Revolutionary Party, visited the capital as well as
several Armenian provinces and towns, including Dilijan and
Tsaghkadzor. Geneva authorities sent Mr. Beer to supervise the
implementation of the city’s Armenia programs.
He had great admiration for the country but said that there was much
to do in the sphere of infrastructure. Partners of the Geneva Canton
in their Armenia projects are AGBU’s Swiss Chapter, headed by Taline
Avakian, and the Armenian Social Investment Fund, whose director is
Ashot Guiragossian. The Canton, along with the Swiss AGBU covers 10%
of the project cost, while the remainder of the financial support
comes from the World Bank.
Minister Charles Beer enumerated all past and present community
programs that have been co-sponsored with AGBU, including the repair
of a hospital roof in Artik and the repair of village water pipelines
in various regional towns. Mr. Beer was convinced that the money has
been well spent and well administered by both AGBU and the Geneva
Canton government. A new project for repairing the Tsaghkadzor sewage
system was presented to Charles Beer during his visit.
Two years ago, Mr. Carlo Lamprecht visited Armenia through the
initiative of the Swiss Chapter of AGBU. The Canton of Geneva has a
special budget called “International Solidarity,” which allocates
funds for projects in developing countries.
During his visit, Minister Beer also highlighted another side of
Armenian-Swiss relations, namely his Canton’s close ties with the
local Armenian community. Many Armenians, including orphans, found
refuge in Geneva after the Genocide. Mr. Beer mentioned that his great
grandmother taught Armenian language lessons during the period.
On December 10, 2001, the Geneva Canton adopted a statement officially
recognizing the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Mr. Beer was a governmental
deputy at the time and one of the initiators of the declaration.
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