VISIT TO ARMENIA 20.08.2018 - 25.08.2018 ! WINGS OF TATEV DAY 1 | 20 AUGUST Arrival Meeting at Zvartnots International airport !Transfer to Yerevan, hotel check-in 10:00 - 10:45 Breakfast at the hotel 11:00 - 14:00 Learning session and a meeting with RVVZ Foundation 14:00 - 15:30 Lunch at the restaurant 15:40 - 16:40 Visit at AGBU 17:00 - 18:00 Visit at Center of Strategic Initiatives 18:00 - 19:00 Fresh at the hotel 19:00 - 21:00 Dinner at the restaurant Overnight at the Hilton DoubleTree Hotel YOU WILL KNOW ABOUT: www.idea.am IDeA Foundation, (Initiatives for Development of Armenia, IDeA) is a private, non-profit foundation that engages both local community and international stakeholders in the creation of sustainable programs that have long-term positive socio-economic impact for Armenia and that strengthen its relevance as a global nation. IDeA acts as a transparent and efficient implementation platform for projects initiated and funded by a wide range of donors (currently 464 international donors), partners, and investors, who share our vision for a better Armenia. Our blended financing and impact investing model is relevant not only to Armenia, but also to about 40 developing countries facing similar challenges. www.fast.foundation Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST) is conceived as a comprehensive platform to foster the technological and scientific breakthrough to Armenia by reviving the country’s strong science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) traditions, establishing a favorable regime for innovative environment, promotion of science and technology education, and actively developing a venture capital ecosystem. www.agbu.org The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) is the world’s largest non-profit organization devoted to upholding the Armenian heritage through educational, cultural and humanitarian programs. Each year, AGBU is committed to making a difference in the lives of 500,000 people across Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian diaspora. www.reforms.am Established by the Government of Armenia and operating as a public-private partnership, it is meant to initiate and accompany the long-term strategic reforms, as well as facilitate the implementation of reforms already in place and going by consolidating and analyzing the existing strategies. The ultimate goal of the process is to work to attract long-term and sustainable foreign investments into the country and increase Armenian exports. The Center for Strategic Initiatives is a vital instrument for advancing the essential reforms in Armenia. GARNIUWC DILIJAN DAY 2 | 21 AUGUST Breakfast at the hotel 09:00 - 10:30 Transfer to the resort town of Dilijan 10:40 - 11:40 Visit to UWC Dilijan 11:50 - 12:50 Excursion to the Haghartsin Monastery 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch at the Flying Ostric restaurant by Dolmama 14:00 - 16:00 Transfer to Lori region 16:00 – 17:00 Visit to SMART Center 17:00 – 19:10 Return to Yerevan 19:10 – 20:00 Fresh up at the hotel 20:00 – 22:00 Dinner at the restaurant DAY 3 | 22 AUGUST Macedonian – Armenian Business Forum 10:00 - 12:00 Opening remarks by RVVZ and Macedonia2025, presentation of successful businesses (per industry), potentials of collaboration 12:00 - 13:30 B2B Matchmaking: pre-arranged meetings 13:30 - 15:00 Lunch 15:00 - 18:00 Conference Challanges and Opportunities of Armenia and Macedonia in the era of glocalization 18:00 - 21:00 Networking evening, gala-dinner with guests YOU WILL KNOW ABOUT: www.uwcdilijan.org !UWC Dilijan represents an exciting extension of the UWC movement into the Caucasus region at the junction of Asia and Europe. It is the 14th United World College. • UWC Dilijan was officially opened on 11 October 2014 • The first cohort of 94 students from 49 countries entered UWC Dilijan in August 2014 • In the academic year 2017-18 UWCD became home for 213 students from 82 countries • International faculty of 42 teachers from 16 countries actively engage in community life as tutors, mentors and learners • Nearly 300 donors from across the world support the initiative • 5 UWC movement alumni are currently involved in academic and pastoral life at UWC Dilijan SMART Centre in Lori region www.coafkids.org SMART strives to provide the tools and cutting-edge environment to be the catalyst for communities to achieve their full potential through idea collaboration, relevant training and innovative solutions around persistent rural challenges. SMART Centers will serve as epicenters for knowledge exchange to invigorate promising, yet under-supported, areas of Armenia. The SMART Centers will feature both tailored new offerings as well as proven highly effective programs implemented by COAF (Children of Armenia Fund) over the last decade, including: digital libraries, multi-sensory programs for disabled youth, entrepreneurship training, civic engagement, apprenticeships, health education screenings, and environmental and economic programs. COAF is currently collaborating with socially responsible partners that share our objectives, in an effort to further facilitate our expansion plans, targeting each of Armenia’s ten provinces. COAF will replicate this model throughout rural Armenia, which can be implemented globally in rural communities. WINGS OF TATEV DAY 4 | 23 AUGUST 09:00 - 10:00 Visit to the Ministry of Diaspora 10:15 - 11:15 Visits to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Armenia 11:30 - 12:20 Factory 1 12:30 - 13:20 Factory 2 13:30 - 14:30 Lunch 14:45 - 15:35 Factory 3 15:45 - 16:35 Factory 4 16:45 - 17:35 Factory 5 !18:00 - 19:00 Fresh up at the hotel 19:30 – 21:30 Dinner DAY 5 | 24 AUGUST Breakfast at the hotel 08:20 - 09:00 Transfer to Ararat region 09:00 - 09:40 Visit to the Khor Virap Monastery (VII c.) 09:40 - 13:00 Transfer to the gorge of Vorotan river for the Tatever cable car station (Wings of Tatev) 13:00 - 14:20 Lunch at Tatevatun restaurant 14:30 - 14:45 Trip to Tatev Monastery (IX c.) on the Tatever - the longest reversible cableway in the world (5752 m), recorded in the Guinness Book of Records 14:45 - 15:40 Excursion to the Tatev Monastery, performance of children choir 15:45 - 16:00 Return via cable car Tatever 16:00 - 18:20 Transfer to Vayots Dzor region 18:20 - 19:00 Excursion to the Noravank Monastery 19:15 - 20:45 Dinner at Areni Wine House, master class in baking traditional Armenian lavash bread and tonir barbecue, homemade wine tasting. Special performance by local artists 20:45 - 22:40 Return to Yerevan. YOU WILL KNOW ABOUT: www.tatever.am ! !Wings of Tatev is the aerial tramway to the natural and historic treasures of Syunik. !Wings of Tatev is: • the shortest, most picturesque and impressive route to Tatev Monastery • the longest reversible cableway in the world (5752 m), recorded in the Guinness Book of Records • Twelve minutes of unforgettable flight above the ravine of the fierce Vorotan River • Celestial highway at the altitude of 320 m !• Cutting-edge engineering solutions by Austrian-Swiss Doppelmayr/ Garaventa Group Facts • The cableway opened on October 16, 2010 • On October 23, 2010, the new aerial highway was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s longest reversible cableway • It set the record not only for the length of the cable track (5752 m), but also the time of its construction – 10 months • Wings of Tatev reversible cableway was opened as part of the Tatev Revival program • The tram ride to Tatev Monastery takes around 12 minutes, whereas the trip up the steep switchback road of the Vorotan Gorge takes around 40 minutes. Tatev Monastery Tatev monastery was built in the 9th–10th century on the edge of a cliff in Vorotan gorge. In medieval times, the monastery ran one of the largest universities in the South Caucasus. In the yard of the monastery there is a swinging column, called Gavazan, “the moving staff”, installed in 904 AD. The column used to move at the hint of danger even during a minor earthquake or when enemy troops were approaching. In 2010, as part of the Tatev Revival project, the longest double-track cableway, The Wings of Tatev, was opened. The cableway connects the villages of halidzor and Tatev through Vorotan gorge. Khor Virap Monastery Khor Virap monastery, “the deep dungeon”, was built in the 7th century over the pit in which, as the legend goes, the Armenian king Tiridates III imprisoned St. Gregory the Illuminator for 13 years because he was a Christian. The prisoner was released only after Tiridates’ sister had a vision that only Gregory could cure her very sick brother. having recovered, the king adopted the new faith and declared Christianity as the state religion of Armenia, and Gregory the Illuminator became the first Catholicos of All Armenians. The 6-meter pit is open for visitors. A picturesque scene of Mount Ararat can be seen from the monastery. Noravank Monastery Noravank, “new monastery”, was built in 1205 in the gorge of Arpa river. The architect Siranes and the outstanding Armenian sculptor and miniaturist, author of the most famous khachkars, Momik, worked here in the 13th and 14th centuries. The two-storey Surb Astvatsatsin (Burtalashen) church located in the middle of the complex is the last creation of the great master. The important architectural element of the church is the cantilever staircase that leads up to the oratory on the second floor. The monastery has a unique feature: above the entrance of the Surb Karapet church you can see the only bas-relief in Armenia that depicts the image of God the Father. UWC DILIJAN DAY 6 | 25 AUGUST 10:00 - 11:00 Visit to Matenadaran (Schientific Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts named after Mesrop Mashtots) 11:30 - 13:00 Visit to Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex (laying of flowers), excursion to the Armenian Genocide museum 13:00 - 14:30 Lunch 14:45 - 16:00 Visit to The TUMO Center for Creative Technologies and PicsArt 16:00 - 19:00 Free Time !19:30 - 21:00 Dinner Transfer to the airport YOU WILL KNOW ABOUT: www.tumo.org The TUMO Center for Creative Technologies is a free of charge after-school program that gives teens the tools necessary to succeed in the modern digital world.