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ARMENIAN GENERAL BENEVOLENT UNION AGBU ARMENIA NEWSLETTER Yerevan, Armenia IN THIS ISSUE Issue 34, July - December, 2015 AGBU President Awarded (p. 1) AGBU Vahe Karapetian Center AGBU PRESIDENT BERGE SETRAKIAN AWARDED MEDAL Inaugurated in Yerevan (p. 2-3) “FOR SERVICES TO THE HOMELAND” TUMOxAGBU Stepanakert (p. 4) Nazarian Family Donates MRI Unit to Heratsi Hospital (p. 5) Global Teaching Labs (p. 6) E-Governance Armenia (p. 7) Mr. and Mrs. Setrakian Host Re- ception for AUA President (p. 8) AGBU Scholarship of Excellence to UFAR Students (p. 9) 10th Republican Chess Tourna- ment (p. 10) Gyumri Project Hope (p. 11) AGBU Holds Debate on RA Constitutional Reforms (p. 11) AGBU Continues to Help Syrian-Armenians (p. 12-13) AGBU Summer Youth Programs in Armenia (p. 14-24) 6th Pan-Armenian Games (p. 25) th th Yerevan Half Marathon (p. 25) On September 26 , 2015, the 6 session of the State Commission on the Coordination of Events for the Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Centennial took place at the AGBU Armenian Virtual College (p. 26-28) RA Presidential Residence, presided over by the RA President Serzh Sargsyan, Chairman of the Commission. American University of Armenia (p. 29) At the beginning of the session, the Chief of Staff to the RA President, Vigen Sargsyan, Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Chief Coordinator of the Events for the Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the (p. 30) Armenian Genocide, presented an intermediate report on Centennial events, followed by Exhibitions at AGMI (p. 31) an awards ceremony. Stitched With Love (p. 32) Upon the RA President’s decree, AGBU President Berge Setrakian was awarded a second AGBU Yerevan Scouts (p. 32-33) degree medal For services to the Homeland for his productive contribution in the organi- zation and implementation of the events dedicated to the Armenian Genocide Centennial. AGBU Schools in Armenia (p. 34) As well as the AGBU President Berge Setrakian, a number of Armenian and Diaspora- Seeing the Unseen (p. 35) based benefactors and businessmen were awarded RA high state decorations and received Belgian Minister Visits Syrian- letters of acknowledgement for sup- Armenian Relief NGO (p. 35) porting, organizing and holding the events marking the Armenian Geno- cide Centennial. President Serzh Sargsyan handed over the decorations to the awardees, congratulated them and wished them success. The 6th session of the State Com- mission on Coordination of the Events for the Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Centennial continued at the RA Government Reception House. Page 1 AGBU ARMENIA NEWSLETTER ISSUE 34, JULY - DECEMBER, 2015 AGBU VAHE KARAPETIAN CENTER INAUGURATED IN YEREVAN The official opening ceremony of the AGBU Vahe-Karapetian Center took place in Yerevan on September 24th attended by RA President Serzh Sargsyan, RA Diaspora Minister Hranoush Hakobyan, Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan, AGBU President Berge Setrakian, US-based Armenian benefactor Vahe Karapetian, Member of AGBU Board of Trustees Karnig Yacoubian, AGBU Vice President Sinan Sinanian, AGBU Central Board Members Vasken Yacoubian and Yer- vant Zorian, as well as more than 200 guests. American-Armenian benefactor Vahe Karapetian donated the building at 1 Zakaria Kanakertsi Street in Yerevan to the Armenian General Benevolent Union in 2014. It is now called the AGBU Vahe Karapetian Center and occu- pies an area of 5500 sq. m. “This center will serve to strengthen ties between the youth of Armenia and the Diaspora. Our main purpose is to bring students from various communities around the Diaspora to their Homeland, show them what it is like to live in Armenia and ensure their future ties and friend- ship with their Armenia-based peers. To serve this pur- pose we intend to hold various educational, cultural and networking initiatives inside the walls of this center”, AGBU President Berge Setrakian said. Opening speeches were made by AGBU President Berge Setrakian and benefactor Vahe Karapetian. The blessing words of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, was delivered by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, Primate of the Tavoush Diocese of the Ar- menian Apostolic Church. (Continued on page 3) Page 2 AGBU ARMENIA NEWSLETTER ISSUE 34, JULY - DECEMBER, 2015 AGBU VAHE KARAPETIAN CENTER INAUGURATED IN YEREVAN (continued from page 2) During the opening ceremony, Vahe Karapetian was awarded the AGBU Gold medal and AGBU Benefactor Member certificate in appreciation of his benevolence. “I have never been an AGBU member, but this union has always been very close to my heart. For years, in the United States, whether on TV or elsewhere, I have followed the activities carried out by AGBU, as an organization with a distinct policy and mecha- nism of national unity. I am familiar with the biography and activi- ties of Boghos Nubar Pasha. We didn’t intend to build this into such a center. We worked very hard and I was very meticulous about this building. And then, when everything was ready, we sim- ply realized we didn't want to use it, neither did we want to rent it our or sell it. And I thought that I can only hand it over to AGBU - the organization that has always thought about the unity of our nation" Vahe Karapetian Accompanied by Berge Setrakian, Vahe Karapetian, Vasken Yacoubian and others, RA President Serzh Sargsyan toured the center, saw the facilities, as well as the programs to be implemented in the cen- ter. Serzh Sargsyan also visited the office of the Syrian- Armenian Relief Coordination Center NGO, which already operates in the AGBU Vahe Karapetian Center. AGBU Central Board Member Vasken Yacoubian presented the interior design concept of the 3rd building of the center, developed by Storaket Archi- tectural Studio. American-Armenian benefactor Vahe Karapetian with his wife The AGBU Vahe Karapetian Center is expected to become an important hub and bridge in the fulfillment of the Union’s mission of strengthening ties between Armenia and the Diaspora, the expansion of AGBU’s presence and activities in Armenia, as well as the im- plementation of Armenia-centered programs aimed to build a larger and stronger network of Armenian youth. Accompanied by AGBU President and Board Members, RA President toured the building The center will also be home to hundreds of Diaspora students and young people from different countries par- ticipating in AGBU’s annual summer programs, as well as host various conferences, meetings, cultural and edu- cational events. For videos please visit: AGBU Vahe Karapetian Center Opening (Armenia TV) AGBU Vahe Karapetian Center Opening (H1 TV) AGBU Vahe Karapetian Center Opening (Ararat TV) or www.youtube.com/AGBUvideo Page 3 AGBU ARMENIA NEWSLETTER ISSUE 34, JULY - DECEMBER, 2015 TUMOxAGBU PARTNERSHIP BRINGS THE TUMO PROGRAM TO STEPANAKERT On September 2nd 2015, the Republic day celebrations in Nagorno Karabakh were compounded with the opening of a new center for learning, creativity and technology in Stepanakert. The recent TUMOxAGBU partnership between the Simonian Educational Foundation and the Armenian General Benevolent Union, has, for the first time, brought the Tumo Center for Creative Tech- nologies program to the region. The opening of the center played host to a large number of dignitaries and VIP guests including the President of NKR, Bako Sahakyan, the President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, President of the Simonian Educational Foundation and AGBU Vice President Sam Simonian, members of the AGBU Central Board Joseph Oughourlian and Vasken Yacoubian, Director of Tumo Marie Lou Papazian, and Ralph Yirikian, General Manager of Karabakh Telecom. th The eagerly anticipated registration began on September 14 followed by orientation sessions for students and parents on September 16, 19, 21, and 23. Students embarked on their ad- venture on October 5th when the doors of Tumo opened to hun- dreds of 12-18 year olds from throughout the city and neighboring areas. Today, the new Stepanakert center already has close to 1,000 students, who learn with seasoned profes- sionals and experts in animation, filmmaking, web develop- ment and game development as well as complementary fields such as 3D modeling, computer programming, music, photog- raphy and graphic design. The operational and startup costs for the center is covered by AGBU through the generosity of founding supporters Avedis and Arsho Baghsarian, Joseph and Jenny Oughourlian, and Victor Zarougian and Judith Saryan. The government of Na- gorno-Karabakh provided a historic building in the heart of the city for the new center which was renovated through the gener- ous contribution of Karabakh Telecom. The first Tumo center was opened in Yerevan in 2011, with a subsequent center opening in Dilijan in 2013 in partnership with the Central Bank of Armenia. The TUMOxAGBU partnership has already opened a center in Gyumri with a long term goal of bringing Tumo to more locations throughout Armenia. For videos please visit: TUMOxAGBU Stepanakert (ArmNews), TUMOxAGBU Stepanakert (ATV) or www.youtube.com/AGBUvideo Page 4 AGBU ARMENIA NEWSLETTER ISSUE 34, JULY - DECEMBER, 2015 NAZARIAN FAMILY DONATES MRI UNIT TO HERATSI HOSPITAL IN YEREVAN On September 23rd, a new MRI unit was inaugurated at the Heratsi Hospital in Yerevan thanks to a $1.4 million donation by AGBU Board of Trustees Member Nazar Nazarian, his wife Artemis and their son, AGBU Central Board Member Dr. Levon Nazarian. The ceremony was attended by AGBU President Berge Setrakian, Minister of Education of the Republic of Armenia Armen Ashotyan, Minister of Health of the Republic of Armenia Armen Muradyan and Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU) Rector Mikayel Narimanyan. The MRI unit is an addition to the AGBU-YSMU Levon and Claudia Nazarian Radiology Center, founded in 2010, which will allow the center to perform medical tests not available at other hospitals in Armenia. The new device provides high quality images that enable accurate diagnoses. According to Narimanyan, the new MRI unit will enable doctors to see car- diovascular pathologies at an earlier stage, observing changes, without endovascular interventions, which may ultimately lead to heart attack and stroke.
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