AFA-Supported High School Training Held in Stepanakert
Students Learn about International Affairs, Gain Conflict Management Skills

PRESS RELEASE
July 26, 2006
AMERICANS FOR ARTSAKH
Contact: Hrant Jamgochian
Hrant@AmericansForArtsakh.org

Washington, DC – Seepan Parseghian of the Stanford University has just
successfully completed a peace education course for Nagorno Karabakh
(Artsakh) high school students. Based on an Armenian-language
curriculum Parseghian himself designed, the training course held in
Stepanakert built on a pilot project conducted in 2005 and supported
by the Americans for Artsakh (AFA) organization.

The summer 2005 pilot program, created in collaboration with the
Stanford University’s Haas Center of Public Service, School of
Education, Institute of International Studies, and Center on
International Conflict Negotiation, and organized through the
Association of International Diplomacy in Artsakh (AIDA) established
by Parseghian, involved thirty students from Stepanakert’s Eighth High
School. The students learned international relations theory and gained
conflict management and resolution skills. The program concluded with
a simulation conference of the Karabakh peace talks.

On the basis of the successfully completed pilot program, Parseghian
won the Donald A. Strauss Foundation Scholarship in Political Science,
expanding the summer 2006 program with the objective of promoting
leadership and understanding of international affairs among Armenian
youth living both in the homeland and Diaspora.

`I wanted to express my appreciation for AFA’s encouragement and
support for the AIDA project,’ said Parseghian. `The program has
already benefited dozens of bright young people in Artsakh, inspired
their interest in international relations, and I hope will encourage
them to pursue careers in public service and contribute to
strengthening Artsakh’s civil society.’

This summer twenty students were selected on a competitive basis from
all of Stepanakert’s high schools to participate in the program. From
June 19 through July 17, the students practiced team cooperation and
exercised individual initiative on case studies such as Rwanda,
Bosnia, Kosovo, and Northern Ireland. They also had an opportunity to
meet and communicate with senior government members, academics and
civic activists. Parseghian is working with Artsakh educators to
establish permanent student clubs focusing on international affairs
that would organize discussions, simulation conferences and other
similar activities.

`I had learned so much and Seepan presented the material in such an
enjoyable way that made it easy for me to participate alongside my
classmates,’ said one of the program participants Tigran Grigoryan. `I
am very happy that I chose to participate in the AIDA program with
Seepan, and I will definitely be continuing these activities with my
friends in the future.’

`With Seepan and the success of his AIDA program, Karabakh’s civil
society has taken another promising step forward towards becoming more
conscious of diplomacy and its power in defending the interests of our
people through peaceful means,’ commented the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic (NKR)’s Deputy Foreign Minister Masis Mayilian.

The project is set to continue this year and into 2007, with a series
of information sessions at university campuses throughout the United
States and concluding with the AIDA Youth Conference to take place
next spring.

`We are very excited about the AIDA project’s potential to contribute
to Artsakh’s education system and, over long-term, to NKR’s civil
society and diplomacy,’ said the AFA President Zaven Khanjian. `We
congratulate Seepan on his achievements and hope he continues his
efforts while encouraging many more Armenian Americans to contribute
to Artsakh’s development and continued success.’

Americans For Artsakh is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
organization established to preserve freedom, strengthen democracy,
foster economic development, protect the cultural identity and promote
the heritage of the people of Artsakh. The founding Board of Directors
include: Zaven Khanjian, President; Dr. Hratch Abrahamian, Vice
President; Savey Tufenkian, Treasurer; Rita Balian, Secretary; and
Edward Chobanian.

To contact Seepan Parseghian about the AIDA project, e-mail him at
seepan07@stanford.edu.