ARMENIAN GENERAL BENEVOLENT UNION AGBUAGBU ARMENIAARMENIA NEWSLETTERNEWSLETTER Yerevan, Armenia IN THIS ISSUE ISSUE 9, AUGUST-SEPTEMBER, 2010 AGBU and Holy Etchmi- AGBU AND MOTHER SEE OF HOLY ETCHMIADZIN adzin Children’s Center opened in Vanadzor (p. 1, 2) CHILDREN’S CENTER OPENS IN VANADZOR WITH AGBU sponsors 1st pan- THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF SARKIS BEDEVIAN Armenian chess olympiad (p. 1, 2) On September 23, the opening ceremony of the "St. Gregory of Narek" Children’s Center was held in Vanadzor under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Su- AGBU AVC presented in preme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and with the participation of bene- Saint Petersburg (p. 3) factors, Mr. and Mrs. AGBU YP Yerevan met Sarkis and Ruth Bede- with Turkologist Artak vian of the United Sta- Shakarian (p. 3) tes. Armenian General Benevolent Union and AGBU “Discover Armenia” completes 7th season (p. 4) Holy Etchmiadzin Chil- dren’s Centers operate AGBU Yerevan Scouts in in Yerevan (Arabkir, Shoushi (p. 4, 5) Nor Nork and Malatia) AGBU-funded APO organ- and the regions (Ashta- izes 4th Yerevan Interna- rak, Vanadzor and tional Music Festival (p. 5) Etchmiadzin). For more than 20 years “State-Diaspora coopera- the Children’s Center of tion” roundtable discussion His Holiness Karekin II and Mr. and Mrs. Bedevian cut the red ribbon Vanadzor functioned in (p. 6) at the entrance of the new Children’s Center building cabins. Today, with 16 AGBU Manoogian- classrooms, two event halls, a gym, open-air basketball and tennis fields, and a Demirjian School represen- boiler-house, the new building of the Children’s Center occupies a territory of 3500 tatives in Armenia (p. 6) square meters, and already has 400 students. The ground blessing ceremony for the new Children’s Center of Vanadzor was held on August 30, 2007. AGBU Buenos Aires The Pontifical retinue and regional authorities traveled to the Diocesan Cathedral of women’s committee mem- St. Gregory of Narek, which was also built through the benefaction of the Bedevian bers in Armenia (p. 6) family. Following the service in the Cathedral, His Holiness went to the "St. Gregory AGBU youth groups visit of Narek" Children’s Center. (Continued on page 2) Armenia (p. 7) European neighborhood AGBU SPONSORS policy (p. 8) THE FIRST PAN-ARMENIAN CHESS OLYMPIAD As part of the “One Nation, One Culture” festival the first pan-Armenian chess olym- piad took place in Yerevan from August 15 to August 23. The joint initiative of the RA Diaspora Ministry and the Chess Academy of Armenia brought to Yerevan forty high-ranking Armenian chess players from Diaspora, Artsakh and Armenia. For most of them this was the first opportunity to visit their homeland. The tournament was spon- sored by the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), the Chairman of the Union of French in Armenia Raymond Yezeguel- ian and “Armavia” company. The total prize fund of the tournament, 22,000 USD, was provided by the AGBU. 10 teams (7 from Diaspora, 2 from Armenia and 1 from Artsakh) participated in the tour- nament each consisting of four players. The participants from the Diaspora were divided into groups based on their regions: Russia – 2 teams, CIS - 1, Europe - 1, Near and Mid- 40 high-ranking Armenian chess players compete in their homeland dle East - 1, North America - 1, South Ame- rica - 1. The Yerevan team was headed by Tigran Petrossian. (Continued on page 2) Page 1 AGBU ARMENIA NEWSLETTER ISSUE 9, AUGUST-SEPTEMBER, 2010 AGBU SPONSORS THE FIRST PAN-ARMENIAN CHESS... (see page 1) The opening ceremony of the first pan-Armenian chess Olympiad took place at the Chess Academy of Armenia on August 14 with the participation of RA President Serzh Sargsyan, RA Diaspora Minister Hranoush Hako- bian, and First Vice-President of the RA Chess Federation, President of the Chess Academy of Armenia and chess grandmaster Smbat Lputyan. The tournament gave a new impetus to the development of Armenia-Diaspora relations and contributed greatly to the spreading of Armenian chess traditions among the Armenian youth. It also helped boost sport and youth ties between Ar- menia and different Armenian communities of the world and promote a love of chess among the youth. This was an unfor- gettable opportunity for the Armenians from 12 countries of the world to compete with each other in their homeland. The results of the tournament were summed up and the win- ners were announced during the closing ceremony of the olympiad at the Chess Academy of Armenia on August 23. The winning teams were the Europe team (3rd prize, 2000 USD), the Yerevan team (2nd prize, 2400 USD), and the CIS team (1st prize, 3000 USD). Individual winners included Grikor Sevak Mekhitarian (Brazil, 3rd prize), Tigran Petrossian The winning team from CIS: Yevgenia Dolukhanova (Ukraine), (Yerevan, 2nd prize), Poghos Nahapetyan (Russia, 1st prize), David Harutyunyan (Georgia), Yuri Hayrapetian (Ukraine), and Manvel Poghosian (Belarus) Katerina Rohonian (USA, 3rd prize), Siranoush Andreasian (Etchmiadzin, 3rd prize), Tatev Abrahamian (USA, 2nd prize), and Diana Arutyunova (Ukraine, 1st prize). All winners received financial awards from the AGBU. Several participants of the Pan-Armenian Olympiad received international norms: WFM Tatev Abrahamyan fulfilled the norm of Women's Grandmaster, Diana Arutyunova - Men's International Master, FM Poghos Nahapetian, Manuel Petrosyan and FM Hovik Hayra- petian - International Master. RA Diaspora Ministry and Chess Academy of Armenia awarded the sponsors and the organizers with certifi- cates, letters of gratitude and medals. For four years now the Armenian General Benevolent Union is cooperating with the Armenian Chess Federa- The winners of the tournament after the closing ceremony tion sponsoring the annual republican interschool chess tournaments. For the video material please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVifH0eLe8Y&translated=1 AGBU AND MOTHER SEE OF HOLY ETCHMIADZIN CHILDREN’S... (see page 1) The students of the Youth center and residents of Vanadzor welcomed the Armenian Pontiff at the en- trance of the Children’s Center. His Holiness along with Mr. and Mrs. Bedevian cut a red ribbon at the entrance to open the facility. The Armenian Pontiff and the guests entered the new building and toured the facilities. All the speakers of the day, Rev. Fr. Komitas Hov- nanian, Dean of the Children’s Centers, His Grace Bishop Sepuh Chuljian, Primate of the Diocese of Gou- gark, Mr. Aram Kocharian, Governor of Lori, and Ms. Hranush Hakobian, RA Diaspora Minister extended their message of gratitude to His Holiness and the benefac- tors reflecting on the importance of having such an es- tablishment. On the occasion of the memorable day, benefactors Sarkis and Ruth Bedevian expressed their heart-felt The new building of the Vanadzor Children’s Center feelings to the people in attendance. Addressing the students of the newly opened Children’s Center, he said, "Be joyous; preserve and enjoy this house like a jewel". At the conclusion of the ceremony, His Holiness Karekin II extended his message of blessings and gratitude to those present. The Pontifical message was followed by a concert performed by the students of the "St. Gregory of Narek" Children’s Center in Vanadzor and the "Nork" Youth Center in Yerevan. Page 2 AGBU ARMENIA NEWSLETTER ISSUE 9, AUGUST-SEPTEMBER, 2010 AGBU ARMENIAN VIRTUAL COLLEGE PRESENTED IN ST. PETERSBURG On September 19, in the Events Hall of the Armenian Apostolic Church’s St. Petersburg residence, Dr. Yervant Zo- rian, member of the AGBU Central Board of Directors and Founding-Chairman of the AGBU Armenian Virtual Col- lege (AVC), met with local Armenian youth, students, members of “Nor Serund” (New Generation) Armenian youth organization and representatives of the Armenian com- munity of St. Petersburg to present AGBU’s activities, educational and youth programs, particularly the Un- ion’s newest learning institute - the Armenian Virtual College (AVC). The meeting was organized by “Nor Serund” youth organization and an opening speech was made by Sedrak Kalashyan, representative of “Nor Serund”. During the presentation Dr. Zorian mentioned that the Armenian community of Russia is in a leading position in terms of registered AVC students compared with other Armenian communities, and that he wouldn’t be surprised if that number doubled in the near future. Nevertheless, he noted that not all the Armenian com- munities are lucky enough to have Armenian Sunday (From left) Sedrak Kalashian, Karen Mkrtchian, Dr. Yervand Zorian and schools, which further emphasizes the importance of Reverend Father Nshan Petrossian AVC. Throughout the whole presentation Dr. Zorian was assisted by Sedrak Kalashyan and community activist Vahan Ba- bakhanian as translators. The local Armenian community was greatly interested in the AGBU projects, which will certainly influence the life of the community with a rich educational and cultural history. At the end of the meeting Dr. Zorian answered all the questions raised by those present. Closing remarks were made by the Spiritual Leader of the Armenian community of Saint Petersburg Reverend Father Nshan Petrosyan. The meeting was also attended by Karen Mkrtchyan, Head of the local Armenian community. During his stay in Saint Petersburg Dr. Zorian got acquainted with the activities of the local Armenian community, visited the local Armenian Sunday school and attended a Holy Liturgy at the Armenian Church of Saint Petersburg. In September 2009, the AVC was presented to the Armenian community of Moscow and was warmly welcomed by Bishop Yezras Nersissian, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church’s Diocese of Nor Nakhijevan and Russia, who expressed eagerness to support AGBU’s activities in Russia. Officially launched in June 2009, the Armenian Virtual College has had four academic terms and more than 500 stu- dents from 35 countries of the world. Education at AVC is conducted in six languages; Eastern Armenian, Western Armenian, English, Russian, French and Spanish.