Panorama.am

20:48 02/11/2007

`All we want to do is participate in cultural events’

Today in the Charles Aznavour square a non-political
movement organized by the `Unison’ organization, under
the title `Culture for everybody,’ took place. The
participants had different slogans, but all had the
same meaning: We are also people. `We are different,
but equal.’ `Culture is everybody’s.’ `No
discrimination.’ `End obstacles together.’ These were
the placards held by today’s participants; the
participants were handicapped.

`We want to tell everybody that we exist. We can sing,
or listen, to anybody. We can visit museums, and go to
places of culture,’ Armen Alaverday, head of `Unison,’
said to a Panorama.am journalist during their
interview. In his words, work has to be done to make
cultural monuments accessible to everyone. `The
physical inaccessibility of these monuments make it
impossible for us to attend cultural events,’
Alaverdyan said.

Demands by event participants were not many, and were
not unrealizable. They ask for cultural places to be
built with wheelchair accessibility. `We are applying
to the government and to benefactors to solve this
problem,’ he said.

The purpose of the gathering was to draw attention to
the plight of the handicapped concerning cultural
integration. A program now underway is being guided by
the British embassy. We point out that a concert also
took place, in which `New Voices,’ took part, as well
as Arsen Grigoryan, Leyla Saribekyan, Anna
Khachatryan, and others.

Source: Panorama.am