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COAF Summer Soirée – Step By Step Guide, Saturday, August 15, at 6 PM PDT / 9 PM EDT. Video

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By Wally Sarkeesian

Our Diamond Anniversary Summer Soirée is this Saturday, August 15, at 6 PM PDT / 9 PM EDT. We are so excited to share this spectacular evening with you as we raise funds for our COAF COVID Emergency Relief Fund, which will entirely be used for providing humanitarian aid and conducting necessary infrastructure improvements for health centers throughout our 64 beneficiary communities in rural Armenia.

This email has the information you need to register, watch, and donate as well as a special video message you don’t want to miss.

If you have any questions either prior to the event or night of, please email our tech help hotline at techsupport@coaf.org or call 212-994-8234.

How to Register for our Live Event 

We encourage you to pre-register for the event so you can donate quickly. You do not have to be registered to watch the event on our Soirée website.

  1. Click here to go directly to our Summer Soirée website registration page.
  2. Enter your phone number or email address to sign up. 
  3. Our registration system will text or email you a specific code to enter on the next screen. Confirm your registration by entering the code. 
Visit www.coafsoiree.org and enter your phone number or email address to sign up. 

Armenia’s travel operators focus on domestic tourism to survive COVID-19 impact

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With no regular flights and international tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism operators and tour agencies in Armenia are re-organizing their work to survive the consequences and offering Armenians domestic tour packages.

One of these agencies is Vardan Travel, which was offering almost exclusively outbound destinations to travelers before the pandemic. CEO Vardan Sargsyan says he personally started travelling across Armenia to find perfect places for leisure, and it sparked interest among others and many wanted to join.

“People started writing me and asked to join. I decided to organize interesting tours, and the first destination was chosen to be Syunik,” he told ARMENPRESS.

“I can’t say that domestic tours are helping us a lot,” he confessed.

“As soon as the flights resume I intend to continue focusing on outbound destinations, but I have to say that I like the idea of discovering sights in Armenia and perhaps we can organize such tours a couple of times in a month,” he said.

Another company, One Way Tour, isn’t new to domestic tourism but is now offering new, undiscovered places for travelers.

“Now there is great demand for hotel leisure. Although hiking tours are also in demand. Many people prefer traveling to rather unknown places, more remote provinces”, One Way Tour’s domestic tour manager Lusine Hakobyan said. One such destination is Horbategh, a town in Vayots Dzor famous for a natural spring.

Horseback riding in Dilijan and rafting are also popular among travelers, she said.

Hakobyan reassures that they are paying special attention to the coronavirus guidelines and the safety of their customers is their top priority.

Anriva Travel Company, known for offering tour packages to Egypt, the UAE and Tunisia, is also working domestically these days.

Most travelers prefer the Goris-Tatev destination, as well as Sevan, Dilijan, Haghartsin, Haghpat and Akhtala, says Anriva CEO Hripsime Stambultsyan. She says the majority of travelers seek hotel leisure. But Stambultsyan says travel agencies can’t survive only by offering domestic tours.

“Hotels are expensive. Many have been left out of business these days. You need 60,000 drams a day for a one day stay at a normal hotel with breakfast for two adults and two children. It’s not that easy for people who get 150-200 thousand drams salary,” she said.

Stambultsyan has 30 employees in her agency, but 29 of them are furloughed without pay. The volumes of domestic tourism demand is such that only one employee was reinstated.

“Our only hope is that the flights resume and the roads are opened. We will be able to reinstate our employees with outbound flows. If just a single flight per week was to operate travel agencies would be able to gradually reinstate their employees. We don’t have clarity today, we don’t know when and what will happen”, she said, adding that they need to know timeframes about the resumption of flights to be able to start preparations and marketing.

Reporting by Anna Gziryan; Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

The16th Khachaturian International Competition organizers move event online amid COVID-19

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The annual Khachaturian International music competition announced a decision to hold the competition virtually this year. The 16th edition of the event will open on June 6 – the birthday anniversary of the renowned Armenian composer.

“Considering the situation with novel coronavirus and the movement restrictions exercised throughout the world, the organizers have made a decision to hold the competition online. The course of the competition, including the opening and final concerts will be livestreamed on the official webpage of the competition,” Aram Khachatryan Cultural Foundation reported in a released statement.

It is noted that the organizers plan to offer some innovative technological solutions during the event. This year the competition will be profiled in the profession of violin playing. Violinists aged 16 to 32 may submit applications at info@khachaturian-competition.com.

The Khachaturian International Competition strives to reveal talented young musicians and open new opportunities for their professional advancement.

The Khachaturian International Competition enjoys wide recognition in the global musical world. It is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions and is the only competition in Armenia, privileged to be held under the standards of this world-scale institution. The number and geographical coverage of the applications grow year by year. The Competition is held with the support of the RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports.

Labor movements around the world mark May 1 under lockdown

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Members of the communist-affiliated trade union PAME practice social distancing during a rally commemorating May Day
Greek protesters maintained social distancing during the protests

May Day is a public holiday and International Workers’ Day in countries from Indonesia to Finland. Protests are impossible for many, so labor groups have been forced to improvise — or to defy bans.

With restrictions owing to the coronavirus pandemic in place around the world, many labor groups are marking the International Workers’ Day on Friday in subdued fashion.

But as a global coronavirus-induced recession rears its head, some leaders say that protests on the public holiday are more important than ever.

Trade union leaders clash with Turkish riot and plainclothes police officers as they attempt to defy a ban and march on Taksim Square

Trade unionists in Turkey detained

Police in Istanbul detained 15 trade unionists on Friday morning, blocking their attempt to defy a curfew. The groups planned to ignore the lockdown and march to the iconic Taksim Square.

The square has been the home to many left-wing protests to mark Workers’ Day over the years, leading to massacres in 1969 and 1977. Police had cordoned off the headquarters of labour union DISK and had apparently offered to drive members to the square to lay wreaths, allowing them to respect the curfew.

The trade unionists were arrested for “harm to public order” and for ignoring a three-day lockdown currently in place.

DISK chairwoman Arzu Cerkezoglu defended the protest, telling local broadcaster Tele 1 “Today, across Turkey … millions of workers work face to face with the virus in factories and on construction sites and it doesn’t affect public order.”

Luca Visenti of the European Union Trade Union Conference tweeted solidarity with the protesters.

Greek protesters observe social distancing

Workers and students in Athens lined up outside the Greek parliament, wearing masks and gloves and using plastic markers to respect a distance between each other.

The protest was organized by the communist-affiliated group PAME and was in defiance of a ban on public movement.

Protesters chanted slogans like “No sacrifice for the bosses.”

The Greek economy has been hard-hit by the coronavirus lockdown. Some shops and other businesses began to reopen this week as lockdown restrictions are gradually eased.

Hundreds of residents also took to the streets in other Greek cities.

German police brace for action

People throughout Germany marked the day a little differently than previous years. May 1 is typically marked with loud protests and crowded streets.

This year, events and rallies were canceled in cities throughout the country due to the coronavirus pandemic. The government has authorized around 20 small demonstrations in Berlin, each with no more than 20 participants allowed.

Meanwhile, protest organizers including the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) are hosting this year’s Labor Day events online.

Berlin’s state interior minister, Andreas Geisel, warned the city on local radio that participating in an unauthorized protest is a criminal offense, German media group rbb reported.

“The police will have to intervene early,” said Geisel, referring to unauthorized demonstrations, adding that protection against viral transmission must be enforced.

French trade unions go online

In other parts of the world, labor movements encouraged their workers to go online. Workers in France were encouraged to make their grievances heard online.

“This is an opportunity to bear the social demands that we have been defending for a long time and the crisis has highlighted,” said Philippe Martinez of the umbrella trade union CGT.

Meanwhile, far-right leader Marine Le Pen ignored advice and pressed ahead with her party’s annual tradition of laying a wreath in honor of Joan of Arc. Le Pen sees the Maid of Orleans, a famous French martyr, as a national symbol. Le Pen’s party has been critical of President Emmanuel Macron’s handling of the crisis.

World’s biggest puzzle can be created as result of pan-Armenian flash mob

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YEREVAN. – There will also be a flash mob, entitled “Together We Can,” during the “TOVMASYAN” Charity Foundation’s online concert on Saturday.

Artak Tovmasyan, President of the “TOVMASYAN” Charity Foundation, stated at Friday’s press conference that those wishing to participate in this flash mob can post their photos on the Foundation’s website by writing the slogan of this flash mob.

“People around the world who join the flash mob do it in their own languages and post it on the website,” he said. “Then, with the collected videos, we will have a video for the new song, and a puzzle will be collected with the pictures. There will be people’s pictures, with the words ‘Together We Can,” on the big puzzle. The size of the puzzle will depend on the number of pictures collected. If the participants can collect tens of thousands or more than 5,200 pictures, then it will be the biggest puzzle in the world, which we will be able to be proud of.”

Also, a number of Armenian and foreign celebrities—including painter Shmavon Shmavonyan, footballers Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba, the French national football team, Hollywood actress Milla Jovovich, and others—will take part in an auction along the lines of this charity concert. They will auction off their personal belongings.

The online concert of the “TOVMASYAN” Charity Foundation will be broadcast Saturday on the foundation’s official YouTube channel. Those interested can also watch the concert through VR technology, which costs $5 per ticket.

More than 60 artists from Armenia and abroad will perform in this concert.

All proceeds will go to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Armenia and to purchase respective medicines and equipment.

The film about William Saroyan is now available online

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The film directed by Lusin Dink,  the daughter of renowned Turkish-Armenian journalist and columnist Hrant Dink’s brother “SaroyanLand” (2013) is now available online, Ermenihaber reports.

“SaroyanLand” is a documentary drama focusing on the journey of renowned American- Armenian writer William Saroyan to the birthplace of his Armenian family in Bitlis, Turkey in 1964.

Saroyan portrayed himself as an American and a Bitlis-tsi, an Armenian from the city of Bitlis in Turkey. In 1964 he made a long voyage in Anatolia, leading him to his home town Bitlis. The docu-drama road movie “SaroyanLand” tells the story of this voyage, making use of his own memoirs and short stories, as well as the accounts of his travelling companions. In Saroyan’s own words, told by a voice over, we see his anger, passion, longing for his homeland, ability of empathy and love of humankind. The script of the film, based on interviews, reenactment of Saroyan’s stories, and the authors memoirs is a collage of his voyage in Turkey, told in his own words. While replicating Saroyan’s voyage 49 years later, we witness the self-discovery of a man, who by following the traces of his ancestors, also finds himself.

The two Armenian Executive Directors Interview, Project 1.5 Million meals for 1.5 Million lives, 105th #ArmenianGenocide, Video

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Armen Sahakyan ANCA Western Region Executive Director and Mihr Toumajan Armenian American Assembly Executive Director joint Wally Sarkeesian explain how Armenian Communities in United State have join into the Project Project 1.5 Million meals for 1.5 Million lives .

Watch on Facebook:

Watch on YouTube:

On April 24th, 2020 the Armenian-American community commemorated the 105th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide where the Ottoman Turkish Empire under the guise of WWI undertook the deliberate and systematic eradication of 1.5 million Armenians as well as an additional 1.5 million Assyrians, Greeks, and others.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, in place of the annual March for Justice demonstration that has historically brought tens of thousands of Armenians to the streets of Los Angeles in calling on Turkey to recognize of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian Genocide Committee, along with Unified Young Armenians and United Armenian Council for the Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide – Los Angeles, has launched a humanitarian fundraiser in support of Feeding America to honor Near East Relief and provide 1.5 million meals to Americans in need.

Near East Relief was the United States’ first congressionally sanctioned non-governmental organization – and the first major international humanitarian relief operation in the world – that mobilized all facets of the American citizenry to respond to the systematic destruction of the Armenian people half a world away.


Consulate General of Armenia in Los Angeles FESTIVE RECEPTION ON THE OCCASION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

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GLENDALE – On March 10, the Consulate General of Armenia in Los Angeles and the Los Angeles chapter of the Armenian International Women’s Association (AIWA) jointly organized a festive reception dedicated to the International Women’s Day. Armenian-American ladies distinguished by their work in public, political, charitable, literary, cultural, and media realms were invited.Consul General of Armenia Ambassador Armen Baibourtian made an opening speech. He presented a brief historical overview of the perception relating to the role of Armenian women and its legal articulation in various periods of shaping of the Armenian social and legal thought, including Gosh’s code of laws “Datastanagirk”, Shahamirian’s constitutional writing “Snale of Glory”, and the Constantinople Armenian national constitution. Ambassador Baibourtian emphasized that the equality of Armenian men and women has been emphasized at various stages of the development of Armenian legal thought. Another manifestation of the deep roots of the Armenian woman’s perception of equality, according to Ambassador Baibourtian, is the Armenian linguistic mentality, which has not separated the masculine and feminine in the language by defining different genders. The Consul General also highlighted the remarkable role of the Armenian women in any period of our nation’s history. Armen Baibourtian noted that the Armenian women, with her prudence and wisdom, have always been a pillar of support for the Armenian men in challenging times. Statistical data testifies that every nation has a continued development, including economic, when there is an equality between men and women.Nelly Saroyan, Minister-Counselor at the Consulate General of Armenia, Nicole Nishanian, President of AIWA-LA, Hermine Janoyan and Marisa Najaryan, AIWA-LA board members were among the speakers.
AIWA is a nonprofit organization with its worldwide membership. Without alignment to any political or religious group, since its inception in 1991, AIWA has been successful in bringing together creative women of various generations, diverse in interests and academic backgrounds, to fulfill its mission.
ՏՈՆԱԿԱՆ ԸՆԴՈՒՆԵԼՈՒԹՅՈՒՆ՝ ԿԱՆԱՆՑ ՄԻՋԱԶԳԱՅԻՆ ՏՈՆԻ ԱՌԻԹՈՎ
ԳԼԵՆԴԵՅԼ – Լոս Անջելեսում ՀՀ գլխավոր հյուպատոսությունը և Հայ կանանց միջազգային ընկերակցության Լոս Անջելեսի մասնաճյուղը համատեղ նախաձեռնել էին տոնական ընդունելություն՝ նվիրված կանանց միջազգային տոնին։ Հրավիրված էին ամերիկահայ տիկնայք՝ հասարակական, քաղաքական, բարեգործական, գրական, մշակութային, լրատվական ոլորտների ներկայացուցիչներ, որոնք աչքի են ընկնում ակտիվ գործունեությամբ։Բացման խոսքով հանդես եկավ ՀՀ գլխավոր հյուպատոս դեսպան Արմեն Բայբուրդյանը: Նա իր ելույթում պատմական հակիրճ էքսկուրս ներկայացրեց հայ հասարակական մտքի ձևավորման տարբեր ժամանակահատվածներում հայ կնոջ դերի ընկալման և դրա իրավական ձևակերպման մասին՝ սկսած Գոշի Դատաստանագրքից մինչև «Որոգայթ փառաց» ու հետագայում նաև՝ Պոլսո Սահմանադրությունը։ Դեսպան Բայբուրդյանը շեշտեց, որ հայ կնոջ և տղամարդու իրավահավասարությունը շեշտված է եղել հայ իրավական մտքի զարգացման տարբեր փուլերում։ Հայ կնոջ իրավահավասարության ընկալման խոր արմատների մեկ այլ դրսևորում էլ, ըստ դեսպան Բայբուրդյանի, հայկական լեզվամտածողությունն է, որը լեզվաբանության մեջ կին և տղամարդ հասկացությունները չի տարանջատել տարբեր սեռեր սահմանելով։ ՀՀ գլխավոր հյուպատոսը նաև կարևորեց հայ կնոջ անուրանալի դերը մեր ազգի պատմության ցանկացած ժամանակահատվածում։ Արմեն Բայբուրդյանը նշեց, որ հայ կինն իր խոհեմությամբ ու իմաստնությամբ մեկ անգամ չէ, որ զորավիգ է եղել հայ տղամարդուն դժվարին պահերին։ Վիճակագրությունն է վկայում, որ ցանկացած հասարակություն և երկիր շարունակական զարգացում են ունենում, ներառյալ տնտեսական, երբ կնոջ և տղամարդու միջև հավասարություն է լինում։Ելույթներով հանդես եկան և ներկաներին ջերմ շնորհավորանքներ ու մաղթանքներ հղեցին նաև ՀՀ գլխավոր հյուպատոսության արտակարգ դեսպանորդ և լիազոր նախարար Նելլի Սարոյանը, Հայ կանանց միջազգային ընկերակցության Լոս Անջելեսի մասնաճյուղի ատենապետ Նիկոլ Նշանյանը, ներկայացուցիչներ Հերմինե Ջանոյանը և Մարիսա Նաջարյանը։

Գլխաւոր Հիւպատոս Տօքթ. Արմէն Բայբուրդեան Ելոյթ Պիտի Ունենայ Փասատինայի Մէջ

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Ս.Դ. Հնչակեան Կուսակցութեան Արտաքին Յարաբերութիւններու Դիւանի կազմակերպութեամբ Հինգշաբթի, Մարտ 19-ին տեղի պիտի ունենայ դասախօսական երեկոյ մը՝ «Հայաստանը Վերափոխման Ճանապարհին» խորագրով, ուր ելոյթ պիտի ունենայ ՀՀ գլխաւոր հիւպատոս Տօքթ. Արմէն Բայբուրդեան:

Տօքթ. Բայբուրդեան ծնած է Երեւան եւ Հայաստանի գլխաւոր հիւպատոսի պաշտօնը կը վարէ Լոս Անճէլոսի մէջ Սեպտեմբեր 2018-էն ի վեր: Փետրուար 1991- էն ետք ան միացած է նորանկախ Հայաստանի պետական ծառայութեան բազմաթիւ պաշտօններ վարելով Արտաքին Գործոց Նախարարութեան համակարգէն ներս:

Սոյն հրապարակային դասախօսութեան ընթացքին Տօքթ. Բայբուրդեան պիտի ներկայացնէ Հայաստանի մէջ տիրող վերջին իրադարձութիւնները, Հայաստանի ներքին քաղաքական հարցերը եւ զարգացումները եւ թաւշեայ յեղափոխութենէն ետք Հայաստանի մէջ տեղի ունեցած բարեկարգումները, ինչպէս նաեւ Հայաստանի Սահմանադրական դատարանի շուրջ ստեղծուած իրավիճակը:

Գիտակցելով որ ներկայիս «Ֆէյք» կամ կեղծ լուրերը շատ են, վստահաբար մենք ճիշդ աղբիւրէն պիտի լսենք հայրենիքի մէջ տեղի ունեցող զարգացումները:

Շրջանի Հայութիւնը հրաւիրուած է ներկայ գտնուելու սոյն կարեւոր միջոցառումին ու լսելու ՀՀ գլխաւոր հիւպատոս Տօքթ. Արմէն Բայբուրդեանը:

Հանդիպումի վայր՝ Փասատինայի Հ.Կ.Բ.Մ. կեդրոն, Հինգշաբթի, Մարտ 19, 2020, երեկոյեան ժամը 8:00-ին, 1060 N Allen Ave. Pasadena, CA, 91104:

Armenia’s Tsaghkunk village to host first ever Lavash Day event

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Tsaghkunk, a village in Armenia’s Gegharkunik Province, will host an event entitled Lavash Day for the first time on 1 August 2020.

The event is dedicated to the famous Armenian flatbread, lavash, which was included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2014.

On the day of the festival the village will be divided into several zones of interest.

According to the organizers, the event is intended for people with different interests. The participants can take part in various events all day long, discover the outdated rituals of Armenian culture, make new acquaintances and friends.

They will have the opportunity to taste Armenian food and drinks presented by various restaurants and local residents, to visit the villagers and take part in the vodka distillation process. The visitors can follow the lavash baking process, hear stories about the famous bread and participate in the baking process to learn how to make lavash on their own.

The feast will pass in happy environment. The guests will participate in various game competitions and will watch theatrical performances.

The aim of the event is not only to highlight the role of lavash in the lives of the Armenian people but also to present it to the world as an integral and inseparable part of the Armenian culture.

One of the goals of the event is to call the attention of Armenian and foreign tourists to the rural communities of the region, highlighting the importance of balanced and eventful tourism development of the communities.

The event is planned to be held every year in this region and thus boost its economic development. Organizers hint that every year Lavash Day will be hosted by a country that will present its national bread and cuisine.