Armenpress News Agency , Armenia Monday Armenian Army representatives participate in military games and military topography competition in Kyrgyzstan YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. The representatives of the Armenian Army are involved in the 2nd all-army military games which launched in Kyrgyzstan on July 23, the Defense Ministry told Armenpress. “The Armenian Armed Forces continue actively taking part in all observations and official meetings between the armies of the CIS member states. In this framework, the Armenian Army representatives are engaged in the 2nd all-army military games launched in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan on July 23 which will be completed on August 1, as well as they are taking part in the ‘Reliable Orientation’ military topography service’s competition of the armed forces of the CIS member states in Borovichi (Russia) from July 24 to 28. According to the 2017 plan of the Council of the Defense Ministers of the CIS member states, head of the physical preparedness and sports division of the Armenian Armed Forces will take part in the session of the Council’s sports committee in Kyrgyzstan on July 30”, the Defense Ministry’s statement said.
Author: Garnik Tadevosian
Armenia to host seminar on agriculture development within Eastern Partnership program
news.am, Armenia
Armenia to host seminar on agriculture development within Eastern Partnership program
17:23, 24.07.2017
YEREVAN. – Armenia’s capital city will host a seminar devoted to the development of agriculture and rural areas within the framework of Eastern Partnership program, Armenian deputy agriculture minister Armen Harutyunyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.
“This kind of discussions are usually held in Brussels, but our European colleagues agreed to visit us. The main topic is innovation in agriculture,” he said, adding that seminar is set for October.
Representatives of Eastern Partnership member countries as well as experts from western and eastern Europe have been invited.
Cultural Tragedy
Aravot, Armenia
We often think, that human tragedy is an abstraction, that it is something we read in the books, see on television or in the movies. It appears to be a phenomenon that is unlikely to happen to us. But, unfortunately, the contrary is true. It happens all the time, even at this very moment, while you are reading this – whether you realize it or not.
“Human tragedy”, as I define it, is the degradation of values and impoverishment of societal principles and ideals. This is being perpetrated not only by our enemies, but mostly by our own bretheren (knowingly or otherwise). This degradetion, like cancer, quietly and slowly, spreads, cell-by-cell, and destroys us. It consequently destroys the fabric of our people and our nation. It often does not destroy our bodies, but instead our “inner” world. This process then gradually corrodes both our individual and our collective “taste“.
In order to better understand this, we must define “taste”. It is the reflection and the totality of our wisdom, knowledge, experiences and understanding, accumulated in our individual lives. You then can extrapolate how it becomes the mirror of a given society and a given nation. Each member of a society creates according to his or her “taste”. The society judges, accepts or reject this work according to its “collective taste”. As a result, one sees the “taste” and the “essence” of that society by its art, architecture and lifestyle.
Approximately 37 years ago, the community of Montebello, California, in an attempt to revitalize its Armenian community, commissioned a young architect – Ashot Dorian, to design and build a church and a multifunctional hall complex on approximately a 4-acre plot of land. It is evident by any account that this architect poured his heart and soul and created an unprecedented monument – the Holy Cross Cathedral. With the same fervor, he designed an architecturally pure, hall complex with Sunday school and related offices. The entire design project signified not only the Armenian man’s soaring “taste”, but also his ever-soaring spirit. In this work, he condensed, in my opinion, the Armenian architectural achievements of the centuries, especially in Armenian church design. With it he also was able to emancipate from “impure” architectural elements and cultural weed. I firmly believe, that his work, specifically the design of the church, represents the physical and metaphysical locus of our time.
Unfortunately during these 37 years, I, as an unaffiliated, unbiased Armenian architect who live in Southern California, have witnessed a series of self-serving and adverse changes to this sacrid structure. During all of these modifications neither the Church nor its appointed committees showed the least bit of basic courtesy to consult or even inform the architect regarding any of the alterations.
Today, we are witnessing the culmination of these spiritual and intelectual miststeps. Those in charge have completely disregarded the existing conditions of the site, the structures and most importantly, the architectural spirit of the complex. It is so abhorrent that it gives the impression that it has been done deliberately, to destroy and denigrate what once was. They have attached a “cartoon-like” structure that is incompatible with the architecture and the intent of the complex.
It is an act, that even our worst enemies would not have done.
The pitiful author of this “new appendix”, likely believes, that by only copying some arches and/or by placing a cross on the elevation of a building, the structure becomes “Armenian”. He does not realize, that this rudimentary addition has absolutely nothing to do with “Armenian Architecture” nor with architecture in general.
Dear Reader,
Please consider the following questions.
- How can a civilized nation allow such mutilation (consciously or otherwise)?
- How can any descent individual “modify” a work of art without the author’s permission?
- How can a committee, that has vowed to defend and protect the spiritual and cultural integrity of our Armenian community, mercilessly and without remorse denigrate one of its community’s treasures?
- How can our church instruct its appointed commissions to mutilate a work which belongs to that community, be it directly or indirectly?
- How can a member of that community tolerate this type of spiritual, cultural and architectural genocide, and remain silent or indifferent to it all?
The “human tragedy” is not an abstract phenomenon.
Today, we are witnessing it in Montebello, California.
If the Armenian Church, which is supposed to be our spiritual guide, allows itself or its committees to conduct the denigration of the community’s collective “taste” by maligning the cultural environment, it becomes extremely difficult for us, the mere mortals to have and maintain “valuable” cultural examples. A society may somehow endure and even fight against bodily mutilation and destruction. However, would any society withstand the mutilation of the soul and the denegration and dispersion of its culture ?
That is why we should not keep silent.
Respectfully,
Edward Hagopyan
Architect
AGBU Armenian Virtual College expands focus on Armenian language education
Public Radio of Armenia
10:25, 19 Jul 2017
In April, the AGBU Armenian Virtual College (AVC) launched its Armenian language e-Hangouts as a way for e-learners to practice their language skills. Founded in 2009, the Armenian Virtual College has addressed the demand for Armenian language instruction worldwide with its online courses in Eastern and Western Armenian, along with courses in Armenian history, culture and chess. The establishment of the e-Hangouts, open to all AVC students past and present, marks an expansion of the program by providing opportunities for learners to practice and forge bonds with this innovative platform.
For the past two months, AVC alumni with intermediate and advanced Armenian language skills e-meet fellow e-learners during the e-Hangout sessions and discuss various topics, such as philosophy, art and cooking. “Communicating in Armenian through the AVC e-Hangouts is not only important as a forum to our e-learners, but it is also very effective in connecting global Armenians,” said AGBU Central Board member and AVC founder Yervant Zorian.
The idea for this global communication platform was proposed in February during a series of events in honor of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) International Mother Language Day that was dedicated to Armenian language preservation in Armenia and in the diaspora. Since 1999, the UNESCO International Mother Language Day-held each year on February 21-has supported mother language and multilingual education to raise awareness about linguistic and cultural diversity through global language education and intercultural communication.
The opening event of the series was the 13th Yerevan Book Fair-Expo at the Khnko Aper National Children’s Library, which took place from February 18 to 21. In the AVC and the Armenian Ministry of Diaspora joint pavilion, AVC showcased its multimedia e-Book series and Armenian language course materials to demonstrate the innovative capabilities developed to meet the needs of young e-learners. During this Fair-Expo, the Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan commended AVC and its methods: “This unique institution always stands out with its innovative offerings. The e-publications are what we have been missing today for a new generation of readers. The Ministry will support AVC to further raise awareness and participation.”
A roundtable discussion, entitled “The Armenian Language in Textbooks,” was held on February 20 and co-organized by AVC, the Armenian Ministry of Diaspora and the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. During the discussion, AVC detailed its approaches for disseminating the Armenian language and AVC Hybrid Education coordinator Arpine Tavakalyan shared AVC’s online experience in preparing e-learning materials. “Distance learning and applying the latest technologies need to have a special place in the development of new language policy and new textbooks need to be accessible to the Armenian diaspora as well,” she said.
The Armenia-Lebanon virtual conference held on February 24 was devoted to the preservation of Western Armenian. During the event, AVC Academic director Hasmik Khalapyan and online Western Armenian instructor Zepur Kheblikian reemphasized the significance of using e-learning methods to teach today’s generations and AVC’s proactive efforts in preserving Western Armenian.
To conclude the series, AVC held an e-Hangout session on March 2 to join the AGBU Lazar Najarian-Calouste Gulbenkian School in Aleppo with the #150 Public School after F. Nansen in Yerevan. The topic of discussion was language learning in Armenia and in the diaspora.
AVC continues to provide a unique method of learning for its e-learners to ensure progress in their conversation and comprehension skills as well as in creating bonds within the global Armenian community.
Sports: ‘Mkhitaryan puts Armenia on the map’ – Marca
Armenpress News Agency, Armenia Friday 'Mkhitaryan puts Armenia on the map' – Marca YEREVAN, JULY 14, ARMENPRESS. Spanish Marca published an article on Armenian national football team captain and Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan which is entitled ‘Mkhitaryan puts Armenia on the map’, reports Armenpress. Marca highlights the important role of Henrikh Mkhitaryan in Manchester United, as well as his goals that greatly contributed to the Man United in the Europa League. According to the newspaper, Mkhitaryan can be a pretender of the Europa League Player of the Year award.
Armenia Tourism: 15 Magnificent Armenia Photos That Give You A Glimpse Of This Historic Nation
India.com
July 6 2017
| Published: July 6, 2017 1:19 PM IST
Chess: Armenia’s Tigran Petrosian wins National Open
Panorama, Armenia
National Open International Chess Festival was held at Las Vegas, with the participation of 54 chess players, including 10 GMs.
As Panorama.am was informed from the Chess Federation of Armenia, Armenian GM Tigran L. Petrosian became the sole winner of the tournament, with a score of 5/6. Ilya Nizhnik took the second place with 4.5 points, with Dmitry Gordievsky concluding the top three.
Art: Armenian-American Artist Norik Astvatsaturov to Receive National Endowment for Arts Fellowship
Armenian Weekly
WASHINGTON (A.W.)—American-Armenian repoussé metal artist Norik Astvatsaturov will be one of nine 2017 National Heritage Fellowship recipients, who will each receive $25,000 and be honored in Washington, D.C. in September.
Norik Astvatsaturov (Photo: Inforum)
On June 19, the National Endowment for Arts (NEA) announced names of the recipients in a press statement.
“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to honor these individuals for artistic mastery, as well as a commitment to sharing their traditions,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Our nation is a richer, more vibrant place because of these artists and the art forms they practice.”
An example of Astvatsaturov’s metal art (Photo courtesy of Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte)
Astvatsaturov was born in Baku in 1947. “I learned to carve wood and stone, using traditional designs that my father’s father would bring back after traveling to different villages via donkey cart. My father also brought stones for me to carve. Traditional art was always around me,” Astvasaturov explained in a 2010 teacher’s guide to his art, published by the North Dakota Council on the Arts in 2010. “Then when I was about 10 years old, I learned metal repoussé from an old Armenian artisan in Baku named Goga. He taught me all the old techniques: how to work both sides of the metal to create depth, volume and detail using nothing but a hammer and nail punch: how to read different kinds of metal-gold, silver, bronze, copper, how to polish and affect the color with just sand and water. Everything is done by hand.”
Another example of Astvatsaturov’s metal art (Photo courtesy of Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte)
Astvatsaturov and his family escaped the atrocities taking place against the Armenians in Azerbaijan in the late 1980s. They found refuge in Armenia and later the United States.
“We were given the green light to come to the U.S. two and a half years after becoming refugees, when my father was 44 and my mother 38. Throughout these events that shaped us, I was a quiet and shell-shocked girl who watched them with a curious eye. I was privy to the details of what happened, but it is hard to understand just how we got to where we are today,” recounted Astvatsaturov’s daughter, Armenian-American writer, lecturer, activist, and politician Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte in an Armenian Weekly article published earlier this year. “As a 38-year-old mother of two, it’s now unimaginable to me the sheer depth of the sacrifices and suffering her and my father accepted for the well-being of their children. It is also impossible to imagine the amount of strength it took them not only to make it out alive through the atrocities of Baku, but the ingenuity to survive in Yerevan as refugees along with the drive to succeed and propel their children and grandchildren forward in U.S.”
Norik and Irina Astvatsaturov
Since arriving in the U.S., Astvatsaturov has worked tirelessly to teach and share his traditional art and its message with Americans and the Armenian Diaspora regionally and nationally. He has taught, given workshops, presented at folk festivals, exhibited regionally and nationally, and is a recipient of fellowships from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, the Fund for Folk Culture, and the Bush Foundation.
For a complete list of 2017 NEA National Heritage Fellowship recipients, click here.
The NEA will celebrate the 2017 National Heritage Fellows at two events this fall in Washington, D.C., both of which are free and open to the public. The NEA National Heritage Fellowships Awards Ceremony will take place at the Library of Congress on Sept. 14, at 5:30 p.m. and the NEA National Heritage Fellowships Concert will take place on Sept. 15, at 8 p.m. at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium.
The concert will also be webcast live at arts.gov.
The National Heritage Fellowships recognize the recipients’ artistic excellence and support their continuing contributions to our nation’s traditional arts heritage. Including the 2017 class, the NEA has awarded 422 NEA National Heritage Fellowships, recognizing artists working in more than 200 distinct art forms, such as bluesman B.B. King, Cajun fiddler and composer Michael Doucet, sweetgrass basketweaver Mary Jackson, cowboy poet Wally McRae, Kathak dancer and choreographer Chitresh Das, and gospel and soul singer Mavis Staples.
Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America.
Chess: Armenia’s Arman Mikayelyan continues impressive performance at the European Individual Chess Championship
Panorama, Armenia
June 9 2017
In Round 9 of the European Individual Chess Championship 2017 Armenia’s Arman Mikayelyan recorded another sensational victory against Spanish chess grandmaster Anton Guijarro David (2660). National Olympic Committee of Armenia reports, Mikayelyan along Russians Anton Demchenko and Maxim Matlakov shares the 2-4 places in the tournament with 7 points each.
On June 9, our chess player will compete with Davit Navara of the Czech Republic (2739) who is the highest ranked player of the tournament. To compare, Arman Mikayelyan is ranked the 216th at the ongoing tournament.
To remind, the championship is played in 11-round Swiss system, with the time control 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from move one. The European Individual Championship 2017 is a qualification event for the next World Cup.