H?Ã?¼rriyet, Turkey
Nov 21 2008

New ministry to handle diaspora

YEREVAN – Armenia has created a new ministry to cater to the needs of
the country’s far stretching diaspora. President Serge Sarkisian
started work on the Ministry of the Diaspora immediately after his
election to office in February.

After long sessions in forums, evaluation and research, the ministry
established in the first week of October and Hranuy?Å? Hagopyan was
assigned as minister. The ministry, aiming to unite all Armenians, is
based on examples in Greece and Israel.

Even though it has been just over a month since its foundation, The
Ministry of the Diaspora is bringing projects to life, one by one. The
priority is to find solutions to overcome the language problem, one of
the biggest issues between Armenia and the diaspora.

Stephan Bedrosyan, deputy minister of the diaspora ministry, gave an
exclusive interview to the H?Ã?¼rriyet Daily News on his work and his
plans for the future. "I do not agree with the diaspora having the
only say on Armenia," said Bedrosyan. Cultural solidarity and
collaboration is a priority of the ministry, as is attracting Armenian
scientists, academics and artists to Armenia from around the
world. The secondary aim is to carry out joint projects with
approximately 30,000 Turkish citizens of Armenian stock, if relations
between the two countries normalize.

The "Ari Dun" (Come Home) project and a computer program that will
translate the eastern Armenian language into western Armenian, are the
main projects of the diaspora ministry. The Ari Dun project, to be
finalised in the following months, aims to bring diasporian youth, of
15 to 29 years of age, and Armenia together. "First of all, we want
youth to see their homeland and embrace their culture. This will be
the first step of the project. Then, we aim to attract youth to
Armenia for educational purposes." A priority of the diaspora ministry
is cultural collaboration.

Bedrosyan said there is always work being done on the diaspora in
sub-branches of Armenian ministries and the formation of the
independent ministry has been needed for some time. Bedrosyan said
problems related to the diaspora should be discussed in detail
immediately, and solutions should be found. "The Ministry of the
Diaspora is a radical and appropriate step. It is needed to present a
picture of a united Armenia and diaspora to the world." Bedrosyan said
eastern Armenians are common in Armenia but western Armenians are part
of the diaspora. "Overcoming the language problem is our main
target. We need to train instructors and experts to teach in
diasporian schools."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress