ARMENIAN GENERAL BENEVOLENT UNION AGBUAGBU ARMENIAARMENIA NEWSLETTERNEWSLETTER Yerevan, Armenia IN THIS ISSUE Issue 26, June - August, 2013 AGBU Armenia Sums Up the Summer (p. 1) A UNIQUE AND INTERESTING PATH TO REPATRIATION AUA Commencement Cere- AGBU Armenia Sums Up the Summer mony 2013 (p. 2) AGBU Summer Youth Programs throughout the world offer something for young people 20 Years Later: AUA First Graduates Establish of nearly every age group. Over 500 Diasporan youths visited Armenia during the sum- an Alumni Endowment Fund mer of 2013 through AGBU’s Antranik Scout Camp, Yerevan Summer Internship Pro- (p. 3) gram, Discover Armenia, Musical Armenia Program, Arménie, Terre de Vie and AGBU AGBU Scholarships to UFAR School visits. Students (p. 4) On August 23, AGBU 6th AGBU Antranik Scout held a press conference Camp (p. 5) at the Noyan Tapan AGBU Yerevan Summer In- Press Club to summa- ternship Program (p. 6-8) rize and discuss the 2nd Season of AGBU Musical summer youth pro- Armenia Program (p. 9-11) grams. AGBU Armenia AGBU Discover Armenia Director Arpi Vartanian, Marks 10th Anniversary (p. 12, AGBU Performing Arts 13) Department Director UGAB Jeunes and Hayk Arsenyan (New Arménie, Terre de Vie (p. 13) York) and AGBU Dias- pora Youth Programs AGBU Armenian Virtual Col- (l-r) AGBU Diaspora Youth Programs Coordinator Herminé Duzian, lege (p. 14-16) Coordinator Herminé Duzian (France) spoke AGBU Armenia Director Arpi Vartanian and th AGBU Sponsors 5 Confer- with members of the AGBU Performing Arts Department Director Hayk Arsenyan ence of Armenian Writers’ media about AGBU programs. Composing in Foreign Lan- guages (p. 16) “Armenian youth and their education are critically important to us. These young people AGBU Celebrates Aram represent our hope, our faith and our future. Each summer, through various AGBU pro- Khachaturian’s 110th birthday: grams, Diaspora Armenian youth spend three-six weeks in our homeland, work in differ- Sabre Dance on the Street (p. ent companies and organizations, gain knowledge and experience, make new friends and 17) connections, volunteer in community service projects and re-discover their heritage and AGBU YP Yerevan Initiatives identity. Through these programs, they become more connected with Armenia and be- (p. 18) come stronger Armenians,” said Vartanian. AGBU Yerevan Scout Move- ment Initiatives (p. 19) Speaking of the Musical Armenia Program (MAP), Arsenyan said “This is MAP’s sec- ond year. Young and talented Armenian musicians from all over the world spend three AGBU Schoolchildren visit weeks in Armenia, and become immersed in the cultural and artistic atmosphere of Ar- Armenia (p. 20-21) menian music -- from classical to spiritual, from folk to Soviet-era, and from jazz to con- AGBU Continues Support of temporary music. This program provides an opportunity for these musicians to establish NKR Healthcare Development a professional career in their homeland. Our participants have received invitations and (p. 21) job offers to stay and work in Armenia. Of the ten participants in 2012, seven stayed in AGBU Camp Nubar Turns 50 Armenia. This year too, one of our participants received a job offer from the Armenian (p. 22-23) National Opera and Ballet Symphonic Orchestra. This is a unique and interesting way of World-Renowned Photojour- repatriation.” nalist Scout Tufankjian Visits th AGBU Yerevan Office (p. 24) Duzian described AGBU’s Discover Armenia program, which celebrated its 10 anniver- sary this year. “Through Fuller Center for Housing - Armenia, we worked in Ujan this year helping a teacher’s family build their home. In three days, together, we accom- plished an entire month’s work,” said Duzian. AGBU representatives spoke about Antranik Scout Camp, Yerevan Summer Internship Program, and AGBU France’s Arménie, Terre de Vie. The latter brought not only French-Armenians, but also French citizens, inter- ested in visiting Armenia and doing voluntary community service. You can read about these programs in this issue of AGBU Armenia Newsletter. For videos, please visit AGBU Press Conference (ArmNews), AGBU Press Conference (Kentron) or AGBUVideo on YouTube Page 1 AGBU ARMENIA NEWSLETTER ISSUE 26, JUNE - AUGUST, 2013 COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY AT THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF ARMENIA June 2 marked an important day for 124 students of the American University of Armenia (AUA). They received their Master's degrees and joined the family of AUA alumni, raising the number to 2,448 graduates. The commencement cere- mony was attended by state officials, representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations, AUA faculty members, students and alumni, parents and guests. The Commencement began with the ceremonial proces- sion of the Class of 2013, the President of AUA, Deans of the Colleges and faculty. The anthems of the Republic of Armenia and the United States of America were played and the invocation was delivered by His Grace Bishop Gevorg Saroyan, Rector of the Religious Educational In- stitutions of the Armenian Apostolic Church. AUA Commencement Cereomony Opening speeches were delivered by AUA President Dr. Bruce Boghosian and AUA Provost Dr. Dennis Leavens. AGBU President Mr. Berge Setrakian and US Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern gave the keynote addresses. (Click here for Mr. Setrakian’s full speech or visit agbu.am) Valedictorians Tatevik Khachatryan and Tamar Kabasa- kalyan spoke on behalf of the Class of 2013. Graduates were presented collectively by their respective Deans and AGBU President Berge Setrakian Addresses the Graduates then called to the stage individually to receive their diplomas. Degrees awarded were: Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Master of Business Administration, Master of Industrial Engineering and Systems Management, Master of Law, Master of Political Science and International Affairs, Master of Public Health, and Master of Science in Computer and Information Science. Some of the graduates now hold two Master’s degrees from AUA. Also present at the ceremony were AGBU Central Board and AUA Board of Trustees Member Carol Aslanian, AGBU Central Board Member Vasken Yacoubian, AGBU Armenia Director Arpi Vartanian and AGBU Armenia Deputy Direc- tor Hovig Eordekian. Like graduates around the world, AUA graduates con- cluded their ceremony by jubilantly throwing their caps in the air. Warm words of congratulations were ex- changed during an open reception that followed. Later that evening, the Alumni Dinner brought together 300 graduates, faculty and staff to celebrate AUA’s Class of 2013. Students Receiving Their Diplomas and Degrees Over the years, AUA graduates have occupied important leadership positions in the Armenian government, such as Deputy Minister of Justice, Deputy Minister of Defense, Ambassador to India, as well as many top management positions in private corporations and international organi- zations. AUA Class of 2013 Celebrating Their Success For videos, please visit AUA Graduation 2013 (ArmNews TV), AUA Graduation 2013 (Armenia TV) or AGBU Video on YouTube Page 2 AGBU ARMENIA NEWSLETTER ISSUE 26, JUNE - AUGUST, 2013 20 YEARS LATER: AUA CLASS OF 1993 ESTABLISHES ALUMNI ENDOWMENT FUND Graduates of the American University of Armenia (AUA) have always been distinguished by their high levels of profession- alism. Today, many of them hold top-level positions in both the public and private sectors, both in Armenia and abroad. It is gratifying that AUA graduates always try to keep ties with the university and, on different occasions, support the univer- sity’s ongoing and future projects and development. In 1993, AUA held its first commencement ceremony. Twenty years later, on July 12, 2013, those first graduates gathered at their alma mater to celebrate their milestone anniversary. Many alumni participated in the festivities, coming from Armenia, its regions and abroad. The Class of 1993 also had a goal - to establish a lasting legacy. These dedicated alumni, now well-established in their ca- reers, were determined to give back to the university that helped and educated them years before. They decided to create a foundation of AUA graduates, with the goal of providing scholarships to needy students of the university. Symbolically, marking their 20th anniversary, they set themselves a goal of collecting 20,000 USD. They ex- AUA Class of 1993 Establishes Alumni Endowment Fund ceeded their expectations and almost immediately collected 24,000 USD. Others present, including alumni from later years were encouraged, and through their contributions, raised the total to 35,000 USD in just one evening. “These graduates played a very important role in the life of the university. Being good students they played an important part in the process of founding the university. Today, I would like to congratulate them. Many of them hold high positions today. It is very gratifying to me that they return to Armenia. They seem to be a large family, they are very united. They hope that the money they collected will increase, so that the next generation will be able to study, even if they cannot afford it. They pave a way for future generations,” said Armen Der-Kiureghian, AUA Trustee and Founding Member. “AUA wants graduates to keep longtime ties with the university and each other. It would be great to create such an environment through which coop- eration will be possible and will promote education development in the coun- try. This class showed how organized graduates should be. Their achieve- ments should serve as an example for other classes,” said AUA President Dr. Bruce Boghosian. “Our goal was to create this fund and, through our example, encourage graduates from other years, to contribute to this initiative as well, when cele- brating the 5th, 10th or 20th anniversaries of their graduation,” said Anahit Ordyan, Director of AUA Administration, and a member of AUA’s Class of 1993. The series of jubilee events came to an end at the university’s Akian Art Hall, where the works of painter Ashot Harutyunyan were exhibited and the AUA First Graduates Gathered at Their Alma Mater Gary Kesayan Jazz Band entertained guests.