EUROPE

The Armenian General Benevolent Union in

www.agbueurope.eu AGBU Europe’s Mission

The Armenian General Benevolent nization’s traditions of solidarity, hu- Union (AGBU) is the world’s largest manism and cooperation between all non-profit organization devoted Armenian communities in Europe. to preserving and promoting the Armenian identity and heritage Leadership: AGBU Europe em- through educational, cultural and phasizes the importance of lea- humanitarian programmes. dership. Our programmes focus on providing support and on building AGBU has played a vital role in the capacity. The AGBU Europe GORIZ life of the Armenian since its Seminar Programme trains young foundation, in , over 100 years professionals and students, while the ago. With a presence in close to 30 AGBU Europe Senior Leadership countries, every year AGBU supports, Initiative connects established pro- serves and connects over 400,000 in- fessionals who wish to contribute to dividuals across , Nagorno- the Armenian community. and the diaspora. Active citizenship: in AGBU Europe advances AGBU’s mis- Europe and their respective cultures sion by developing activities across have an important role to play in the the continent in coordination with 12 larger society. AGBU Europe main- local chapters, as well as a growing tains an open dialogue with public number of partner organizations. authorities and institutions across These activities focus on: the European continent. • education • leadership training Armenia in Europe: AGBU in- • heritage vests considerable resources in the • remembrance social and economic development of • European Union (EU) public affairs Armenia and supports the country’s European aspirations. It also encou- AGBU Europe’s work is driven by four rages Europe’s participation in brin- guiding principles: ging peace to the South Caucasus by engaging with the people and Core Values: AGBU is non-parti- leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh. san and unaffiliated with any political organization. Since its establishment, AGBU Europe has built on the orga- 2 The Organization

AGBU Europe AGBU Young Alexis Govciyan (President) Professionals Groups For more information, visit: www.agbueurope.eu Nicolas Tavitian (Director) Austria () www.agbuyp.org Belgium (Brussels) AGBU Europe office Bulgaria ( and Plovdiv) Tel: + 32 2 761 12 17 AGBU Europe Chapters (, Lyon and Marseille) Email: [email protected] Germany (Frankfurt and ) Avenue Louise 66, Austria (Vienna) 1050 , Bulgaria (Burgas, Dobrich, Haskovo, Poland () Belgium Plovdiv, Russe, Silistra, Silven, Russian Federation () Sofia, Yambol) Switzerland () Cyprus (Larnaca and ) (Istanbul) France (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, () Nice-Côte D’Azur, St. Chamond/ St. Etienne, Valence and Vienne) Germany (AGBU-HAIK, Frankfurt and Hamburg) Greece ( and Thessaloniki) (Milan) The Netherlands (Almelo) () Switzerland (Geneva) United Kingdom (London) Armenia ()

3 Our European Programmes

In keeping with of its mission, AGBU Young Professionals (YP) is AGBU Europe has developed in- a growing network of groups around ternational programmes in five the world who are committed to priority areas: young leaders, se- preserving and promoting an Arme- nior leaders, cultural heritage, re- nian identity and heritage through membrance and advocacy. educational, cultural and humani- tarian programmes for young people Young Leaders between the ages of 22 and 40. Goriz was established in 2008 to culti- vate future Armenian leaders in Eu- In Europe, there are YP groups in rope. It identifies, trains and supports Athens, Austria, Belgium, Geneva, young Armenian leaders. GORIZ par- Hamburg, London, Lyon Rhône- ticipants are pillars of their communi- Alpes, Marseille, Paris, Plovdiv and ties: they have started NGOs, launched Sofia, as well as partnerships with newspapers, run in elections, mobi- organizations like SIVAM in Moscow, lized their peers and otherwise hel- HAIK in Germany and UTI in Istanbul. ped to strengthen their communities. Through the GORIZ programme, they For more information: are able to further develop their acti- http://www.agbugoriz.org vism and civic engagement. http://www.agbuyp.org

GORIZ seminars vary by theme and location. In the past, they have in- Senior Leaders cluded lobbying (Venice, 2009); de- Launched in Warsaw in 2013, the mocracy and participation (Yerevan, AGBU Europe Senior Leadership Ini- 2010); European citizenship (Brussels, tiative is a network of policy makers, 2011); media (Yerevan, 2012); Arme- entrepreneurs, journalists and aca- nians in Turkey (Istanbul, 2013); and demics. Members are of Armenian Minority participation in public life heritage or have an interest in the (, 2014). Armenian community. Together, the leaders provide support to future ge- nerations and exercise leadership on key issues.

4 Cultural Heritage Remembrance matic dialogue with public authori- ties. The organization is also working The know-how and wisdom of past AGBU Europe is leading efforts to directly with European institutions generations is the foundation upon commemorate the first major geno- on a number of issues, including the which we build our own lives. But cide of the 20th century. Supporting preservation of Armenian heritage, the upheaval of the twentieth cen- efforts to foster change in Turkey, in the promotion of multilingualism, tury left much of heritage of the 2013 and 2014 AGBU Europe orga- the struggle against racism and the Armenian community destroyed, nized the first European delegation denial of the Armenian genocide in forgotten or denied. to commemorate the Armenian Ge- Europe as well as the development nocide in Istanbul, partnering with of relationships with Armenia and In its work, AGBU aims to raise awa- the European Grassroots Antiracist Nagorno-Karabakh. reness about the Armenian culture Movement (EGAM) and with the Tur- and heritage in Europe, Turkey and kish NGOs DurDe! (Say Stop!) and beyond. In 2009, AGBU spearheaded IHD (İnsan Hakları Derneği – Human the Armeniaca Project with the Rights Association). support of the EU’s Culture 2007- 2013 Programme. This project, now Advocacy completed, digitized several of the AGBU Europe believes that it is par- most important private archives of ticularly important for all segments Armenian monuments in Europe, of society, including diasporas and the Middle East and Turkey. These cultural minorities, to engage with included artwork and publications, public authorities. AGBU therefore as well as pictures of ancient Arme- helps build capacity among Ar- nian buildings, many of which have menian diasporan groups towards since been destroyed. These archives carrying out an effective and prag- make the future restoration of the remaining structures possible. The Armeniaca Project ended with exhibi- tions in the European Parliament and several European cities.

5 Our Programmes in Europe

AGBU and its chapters offer a Summer Programmes wide range of cultural and educa- and Youth Camps tional activities in Europe, inclu- • Discover Armenia (Armenia) ding camps for children, choral • Musical Armenia (Armenia) groups, musical ensembles, dance • Scout Camp (Armenia) and theatre troupes as well as • Camp Hay Ler (Bulgaria) schools. Bulgaria and Sofia (Bulgaria) • Colonie de Vacances (France) For more information on AGBU • Antranik Scout Camp (Armenia) programmes, please go to: • Internship programme (Yerevan) www.agbu.org – www.agbueurope.eu Choral groups • Gomidas Choir (Haskovo, Bulgaria) Academic Programmes • Aravod Choir (Yambol, Bulgaria) • Armenian Virtual College • Koghtan Choir (Paris, France) • Scholarships for students • Nubarian Library (Paris) Dance Troupes • Garod Dance Ensemble (Vienna, Austria) • AGBU Dance Ensemble (Dobrich, Bulgaria) • Nur Dance Ensemble (Sofia, Bulgaria)

Musical Ensembles • Erebouni Band (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) • AGBU Chamber Orchestra (Sofia, Bulgaria) • State Chamber Orchestra (, Nagorno-Karabakh)

6 Theatre Troupes Programmes in Armenia Emergency Aid • AGBU Youth Theatre Troupe • Children Centres (3) Humanitarian Relief to Syrian (Haskovo, Bulgaria) • Senior Dining Centres (3) • Ahazank Theatre Troupe • Ultrasound Training Centre (Paris, France) • Grants to support - the French University of Armenia Schools - the American University of Armenia • Artaki Kalpakian School - Yerevan State University (Athens, Greece) • Grants to the Holy Etchmiadzin, • Saturday School (Dobrich, Bulgaria) the Holy See of the Armenian • Saturday School (Haskovo, Bulgaria) Church, to support: • Saturday School (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) - the restoration of churches •  Saturday School - the training of clergy (Paris, France) • Support to the restoration of • Weekly School (Vienne, France) church buildings and to the training of priests • Hye Geen Pregnant Women’s Centres (4)

7 Russian Federation United Kingdom SIVAM (Moscow) London YP London Netherlands Almelo Germany Burgas Paris Belgium Frankfurt Dobrich Lyon Hamburg Haskovo Marseille Brussels HAIK Plovdiv Nice-Côte D’Azur YP Belgium YP Hamburg Russe St. Chamond/ St.Etienne Austria Silistra Valence Switzerland Silven Vienne Vienna France Geneva Sofia YP Paris YP Austria YP Geneva Yambol YP Lyon Rhône-Alpes Bulgaria YP Sofia YP Marseille YP Plovdiv Italy Georgia Armenia Spain Milan Turkey Yerevan Barcelona UTI (Istanbul) YP Yerevan

Greece Athens Cyprus Thessaloniki Larnaca YP Athens Nicosia

Armenians in Europe The Armenian diaspora in Europe dates back at least 1200 years. Over the centuries, it has played a significant role in the Euro- pean story. Armenians are recognized linguistic or national minorities in a number of EU countries.The number of Armenians in Europe increased considerably with the influx of survivors of the Armenian genocide in 1915 and victims of subsequent persecu- tion in Turkey. They have been joined more recently by many more Armenians who have left the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The Armenian population in Europe today is estimated to be 1.5 million and Armenian associations and communities are active throughout the continent.

For more information Support AGBU Europe www.agbueurope.eu All AGBU Europe programmes are made possible through the generous support of www.agbuyp.org members and donors. Please support us by donating online or contact us directly. All contributions will be acknowledged. EUROPE AGBU Europe Office Tel: + 32 2 761 12 17 www.agbu.org/donate Email: [email protected] Avenue Louise 66 For more information please visit our web site at: 1050 Brussels, Belgium www.agbueurope.eu https://www.facebook.com/agbueurope