PRFESS RELEASE
July 26, 2007
Contact: Linda Yepoyan
Phone: 610-642-6633
info@birthr ightarmenia.org
BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA ALUMNI REUNION MAKES FOR MEANINGFUL RETURN
Yerevan, Armenia- Whether it be painting walls of a long-term home for
disabled individuals or hearing about the blossoming corporate culture from
the director of a leading mobile phone company, the feelings expressed by a
collective of alumni volunteers who returned to the Homeland this summer are
unanimous. Rewarding. Meaningful. Spiritually invigorating.
Eighteen young adults from the US, Canada, Great Britain and Syria, who
represent a very active segment of the Birthright Armenia alumni base,
returned for the inaugural Alumni Reunion Week sponsored by Birthright
Armenia, eager to reminisce on their past experiences as volunteers, but
more importantly, to "give back" to the country. This time around, however,
their days wouldn’t be spent working 9-5. As participants of the nine-day
reunion activities, they came ready to solidify their existing connections
and to create new relationships with young colleagues with whom they share
many commonalities, most of all future community leadership initiative.
Their action-packed itinerary included a balance of educational and cultural
events, community service and social tie-in meetings with youth.
"The best memories are not so much of the entire trip, but of small
individual experiences like teaching small children rugby and algebra at the
Khor Virap village, learning ethnic dance from a leading instructor in
Armenia, and seeing a young boy sing about the mother he never knew in SOS
Children’s Village in Kotayk province", comments Armand Sarvarian, a law
student in London, who volunteered his services for the Armenian Young
Lawyers Association in 2005. "It’s really the little experiences that were
the most profound and meaningful for me," he continues.
In addition to the above, the alumni did a collaborative house build with
partner organization Habitat for Humanity, actively participated in a mixer
with local university students at Common Ground to discuss Javakh and
Nagorno-Karabagh, visited the ruins of the medieval capital of Ani from the
Armenian-Turkish border, explored caves in Yeghegnatsor, and so much more.
Having nearly four years of experience and history with sponsoring
volunteers since its inception, the time seemed right to convene as many of
them as possible in Armenia for this first-ever organizational event. Ms.
Adrienne Tashjian, of Winchester, MA, although thousands of miles away from
the frontline of reunion activities, is someone who understands the
importance of working toward strengthening the bridge between Diaspora and
Homeland youth. She generously wrote a check that financed the entire
reunion to show her appreciation and support for Birthright Armenia and the
organization’s steadfast commitment to its alumni.
Sarvarian adds, "I decided to attend the reunion in order to keep up my ties
with the Homeland, to gradually prepare myself for repatriation in a few
years’ time. I think the experience as a whole taught me both how far I’ve
come in terms of cultural knowledge, and also showed me how far I have yet
to go".
Dzovinar Derderian, a graduate student at Georgetown University, volunteered
at the Information Office of the Council of Europe in 2004, and has made
multiple trips back to Armenia since. "It was great reconnecting with many
of the alumni and seeing how some have come back not just as tourists, but
have either moved to Armenia or are contributing to it in some ways", says
Derderian. "It was also great realizing the great network that has been
created among the Armenian diasporan youth through Birthright Armenia, which
gives me great hope for the future of Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora."
This fall the organization will begin planning another alumni reunion in
Armenia for summer 2008, to mark the fifth anniversary of Birthright
Armenia’s launch in Armenia.
Birthright Armenia’s mission is to strengthen ties between the homeland and
diasporan youth by affording them an opportunity to be a part of Armenia’s
daily life and to contribute to Armenia’s development through work, study
and volunteer experiences, while developing a renewed sense of Armenian
identity.