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PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
AGBU Announces New European Structure Led by Alexis Govciyan
During its recent fall meeting in New York, the AGBU Central Board
decided to establish a new structure, headquartered in Paris, France,
for conducting its operations in Europe. The new initiative follows
trends across the continent of consolidating entities within the member
states of the European Union.
As an important force in the global Armenian community, AGBU Europe will
ensure that the organization maintains a pan-European perspective that
serves all communities under its umbrella, while staying dedicated to
AGBU’s central mission of promoting the Armenian heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian programs.
Appointed to head AGBU Europe is Alexis Govciyan, who is a leading
member of the French-Armenian community and a former Chairman of AGBU
Paris.
Commenting on the new European structure, Berge Setrakian, AGBU
President, said, "We are working to ensure that European Armenians
continue to play a vital role in the development of AGBU programs for
the perpetuation of our culture and identity. The new initiative will
reinforce the link between Armenia and the Western world, recognizing
that Europe is an important conduit for Armenia’s relationship with the
diaspora. We are encouraged by Alexis’ passion as an advocate for the
European-Armenian community. His involvement assures us that he will be
able to extend the mission of AGBU to emerging Armenian communities
across Europe."
The new AGBU Europe structure with be effective January 1, 2008. A
special conference from February 1-3, 2008 will take place in Brussels,
Belgium. All established and emerging AGBU communities in the member
states of the European Union will participate in the gathering.
Established in 1906, AGBU is the world’s largest Armenian non-profit
organization. Headquartered in New York, AGBU preserves and promotes the
Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural, and
humanitarian programs, annually touching the lives of some 400,000
Armenians around the globe. For more information on AGBU, please visit