PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 0033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 – 10) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 – 10) 52.48.46
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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December 24, 2007
ACNIS Bids Farewell to 2007 With the Release of A New Yearbook
Yerevan–The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS)
today publicly presented its annual trilingual almanac, this year entitled
"Armenia: The Imperative for A New Strategy." The event brought together the
yearbook’s participating authors, editorial staff, foreign embassy and
mission personnel, political scientists, policy specialists, foremost
scholars, and media representatives.
Held in the official reception hall at ACNIS headquarters, the program was
opened by Karapet Kalenchian, the Center’s director of administration. "This
new oeuvre is the product of an incessant creative exploration, by ACNIS
staff and associating analysts, of numerous key issues concerning, prospects
awaiting, and challenges facing Armenia today and tomorrow," he said.
The next speaker, ACNIS research coordinator Syuzanna Barseghian, emphasized
the shared qualities of and the organic connection among the articles in the
almanac. "Though the research studies offered in the yearbook do not provide
a panacea, they do suggest new conceptual approaches and alternative
thinking that are indispensable in order to tackle the geopolitical issues
which have a bearing on Armenia," she noted. Barseghian then presented the
contents of the almanac.
The 232-page compendium starts with an introduction by ACNIS founder Raffi
K. Hovannisian in which he touches upon several matters of utmost
importance. The introduction is followed by an article series devoted to
current regional developments and actual socioeconomic topics. In their
monographs, leading economists Tatoul Manasserian and Zoya Tadevosian,
Center’s senior analyst Hovsep Khurshudian, Yerevan State University
lecturer Aram Harutiunian, political analysts Davit Petrosian and Tatul
Hakobian, and Syuzanna Barseghian look into the ongoing regional processes
and propose avenues for resolving conflicts and domestic matters. The
scholarly analyses and policy recommendations relate specifically to the
settlement of the Mountainous Karabagh conflict; the Kars-Akhalkalak
railroad construction project and potential regional developments; Armenia’s
foreign policy and its relations with neighbors; the economic peculiarities
of Armenia; the socioeconomic consequences of a "strengthening" Armenian
currency, the dram, and the political suppositions with respect to a
"weakening" dollar; and the demographic situation in Armenia. As
long-established tradition, the anthology ends with a complete list of ACNIS’s
strategic partners.
Words of appreciation were also delivered, and assessments offered, by
member of parliament Stepan Safarian and many others. It was underscored
that the main feature of the new yearbook is the variety of important themes
it examines, the contemporary issues it raises, and the unique way of in
which it presents these concerns to the reader. The almanac’s participating
authors Tatoul Manasserian, Davit Petrosian, and Aram Harutiunian then
briefly introduced the primary ideological benchmarks of their scholarly
articles published in the compilation and also informed of their future
projects. The invited guests yet again underlined the true merits of the
yearbook and wished greater creative heights to its associating partners.
The editorial staff of "Armenia: The Imperative for A New Strategy"
comprises the ACNIS team of editor-in-chief Gevorg Lalayan; graphic designer
Vahagn Vardanian; and contributors Karapet Kalenchian, Syuzanna Barseghian,
and Sayat Kuyumcuyan.
Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS serves
as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy challenges
facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet world. It also
aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic thinking and a wider
understanding of the new global environment. In 2007, the Center focuses
primarily on civic education, democratic development, conflict resolution,
and applied research on critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the
state and the nation.
For further information on the Center call (37410) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax
(37410) 52-48-46; email [email protected] or [email protected]; or visit