Aurora Humanitarian Initiative announces second grant to Matenadaran

10 guides will travel to Germany for an international training as a result of the cooperation of Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and the Matenadaran.

On October 8, the Feast of the Holy Translators, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative has decided to grant US $20,000 to the Yerevan Mesrop Mashtots Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, the Matenadaran, to facilitate making Armenian culture more accessible to foreign visitors.

The grant will fund the training of ten Matenadaran guides. They will travel to Germany to visit museums and cultural centers in Germany to identify and learn the newest principles of museum management and presentation, and to develop skills necessary for museum guides who work in foreign languages.

“Matenadaran has always valued the importance of sharing information. We pay huge attention to professional competence of our guides. This project is enormously important and we are pleased that this partnership grows and is becoming strategic,” said Ara Khzmalyan, Advisor to the Director of Matenadaran.

The Yerevan Mesrop Mashtots Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts has the biggest flow of foreign visitors in Armenia as a research and cultural institution.

“Deciding on this grant on the feast of Holy Translators is not just symbolic. With this grant, we are proud to continue in the tradition of the 5th century translators who were instrumental in integrating Armenia and Armenians into world culture.  Better representation of Armenian culture through better-trained guides is very important, and an appropriate fit within the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative,” said Ruben Vardanyan, Co-Founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative.

This is the second instance of cooperation between the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and the Matenadaran as a project of the Armenian Memory Act. In 2015, the Matenadaran received US $25 000 grant to purchase a special scanner to digitize manuscripts making them more accessible for researchers and the wider public. 700 manuscripts and rare archive documents have been digitalized since the beginning of the project. The process of digitization is ongoing. The Armenian Memory Act, subproject of Aurora Initiative, is committed to enhancing the preservation and use of archives and documentation of the Armenian experience.

Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Emil Lazarian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.

Direct link to this article: https://www.armenianclub.com/2016/10/20/aurora-humanitarian-initiative-announces-second-grant-to-matenadaran/

Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS