Category: 2022

Noor Lima Boudakian appointed University Trustee

Greg Madatian
 Guest Contributor Diaspora 0

Noor Lima Boudakian speaking on behalf of students at the investiture of Dwight A. McBride as ninth president of The New School, October 7, 2021. She has since been appointed to a one-year term as a member of the university’s Board of Trustees. Photo courtesy of The New School.

NEW YORK—On May 5, 2022, the Board of Trustees of the New School voted to appoint Noor Lima Boudakian to a one-year term as a member of the board. Lima Boudakian is completing her third year at the university. The board appoints two student trustees every year on the recommendation of the president of the university.

Lima Boudakian, 21, is completing a bachelor’s degree in economics and global studies at the university’s Eugene Lang College along with a master’s degree in economics at the New School for Social Research, the university’s graduate faculty. In addition to being on the Dean’s List every semester, Noor has been an award-winning participant in the university’s policy debate team; with her teammate Katrina Butler, she won a coveted place at the National Debate Tournament this year. She was recognized with the Max Adler Award for Leadership in Debate.

Noor Lima Boudakian (right) and Katrina Butler representing the New School at the highly selective National Debate Tournament in Washington, D.C., April 3, 2022. Noor has been appointed to a one-year term as a member of the Board of Trustees of the New School.

The trustees govern the university, charting a course for its future, overseeing investments, outlays, faculty appointments and the work of the university leadership team.

With her appointment as trustee, Lima Boudakian will continue providing a voice to students and serving as a student leader in the university. First elected as a member of the University Student Senate in 2020, in the most difficult days of the pandemic, she was reelected and served as the chair of the senate for the 2021-22 academic year. In this capacity, she oversaw the activities of the 22-member body and spoke for students with the administration and faculty of the university.

Lima Boudakian’s focus as University Student Senate chair was to ensure that students’ pressing concerns were heard and addressed even as the university and the world navigated the health, financial and emotional challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. Among her achievements was the establishment of a permanent student-administration committee to review financial policy.

Lima Boudakian has also served as the student member of the search committee for the dean of Eugene Lang College, as a Civic Liberal Arts teaching fellow and a participant in the Dean’s Honor Symposium, which displays outstanding student research work.

Lima Boudakian has strong connections to Armenia and the Armenian community. She lived in Armenia from 2006 to 2010 and has returned frequently; most recently, she was there in March on a research grant, the Eugene Lang Opportunity Award. Lima Boudakian has been translating news from Armenian to English for the Hamazkayin Central Executive Board since 2018. She interned in Armenia with the Gomidas Institute in 2018.

Noor Lima Boudakian is daughter of Martha Boudakian, a midwife, and Vincent Lima, a psychometrician who served as editor of the Armenian Reporter and Armenian Forum. Noor’s father is an alumnus of the New School; her grandfather Gregory Lima was a graduate student at the New School in the 1950s and returned to receive his master’s degree there in 1982.




AW: Karnig Alajajian named Honorary Booklet chairperson of the HMADS 2022 Gala

Emil Lazarian
 Guest Contributor Announcements 0

Karnig and Alice Alalajian

By Jennifer Chelebi

NEW YORK, NY—In celebration of the 55th anniversary of our beloved Holy Martyrs Armenian Day School (HMADS), we invite you to join the Friends of HMADS committee and this year’s Honorary Booklet chairperson Karnig Alajajian on June 4, 2022 at the North Hills Country Club in Manhasset, New York. 

We have all struggled over the last few years to maintain a sense of connectivity both physically and emotionally to our Armenian heritage, family and community, making this year’s gala perhaps the most important one yet. As the son of Armenian Genocide survivors Vahan and Agnes Alajajian, Karnig has devoted his life to celebrating and preserving the Armenian spirit, making him the ideal Honorary Booklet chairperson for this very special occasion. 

A commitment to education and a bold entrepreneurial energy has led Alalajian’s life of hard work in which he has taken pride in successful business endeavors and remained dedicated in his service to Armenian organizations. Since his arrival in the United States from Egypt, where he was raised alongside his sisters in a proud Armenian family, Alajajian has not only immersed himself in the Armenian community but taken on the even more difficult task of spreading the message about the thriving Armenian culture to others. 

Alalajian pursued his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1955. Upon graduation, he began working at Bell Systems while pursuing a master’s degree. Alalajian ventured out on his own and began working in real estate, opening firms in Queens, New York. He also served on the Board of Directors of ALMA Bank from 2015 to 2019. 

For seven years, Alalajian was president of the Armenian Students’ Association at New York University. He has represented St. Sarkis Church in Douglaston, N.Y. as a delegate to the National Representatives Assembly and has also been a member of the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society for 50 years, where he engages in the theater group. Alalajian, along with his loving and supportive wife Alice, has established the Alajajian Family Scholarship Fund with the Armenian Relief Society (ARS), a scholarship that will support students of Armenian descent who are pursuing their higher education in the US.

Please join the Friends of HMADS, the HMADS Board of Directors and Karnig Alajajian and family as we reconnect with friends for an exceptional evening of dining and entertainment. Dance the night away to joyous Armenian music from the multitalented songwriter, singer and producer Harout Bedrossian. This year, the raffle committee has put together an exceptional selection of prizes, so please come and support their efforts with your generosity. The festivities will begin at 7:30 p.m. with a bountiful cocktail hour. 

Your Gala Dinner Dance contribution of $175 will greatly support the efforts of the Friends committee and HMADS, benefiting future generations of Armenians. For further information about this highly anticipated event or to find out how to become a part of the Friends of HMADS, please contact the school office at (718) 225-4826, Negdar Arukian at (718) 423-4813, or Nayda Voskerijian at (516) 603-2809.




RFE/RL Armenian Report – 05/18/2022

Karagyozian Lena 
                                        Wednesday, 
Armenian Opposition Slams U.S. Envoy
Armenia - U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy speaks to journalists in Syunik province, 
September 15, 2021.
Opposition groups trying to topple Armenia’s government denounced the U.S. 
ambassador in Yerevan on Wednesday for seemingly touting the outcome of last 
year’s parliamentary elections won by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s party.
In an interview with the state-run Armenpress news agency, Ambassador Lynne 
Tracy voiced support for the government’s “democratic and economic reform 
agenda” amid continuing daily demonstrations held by the country’s leading 
opposition forces.
“We are committed to continue helping the Armenian people build a future based 
on shared democratic values, a path they chose in 2018 and to which they 
recommitted themselves during the 2021 parliamentary election,” said Tracy.
Ishkhan Saghatelian, an opposition leader and the main speaker at the more than 
two-week protests, criticized her comments when he addressed thousands of 
supporters rallying in Yerevan’s France Square. He said that voters did not give 
Pashinian a mandate to “cede” Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan.
“If some circles think the Armenian people will cater for their interests, they 
are deeply mistaken,” Saghatelian told the crowd. “The Armenian people stand in 
this square to prevent that. This is not a fight for power. This is a fight for 
Armenia’s sovereignty. And let nobody contrast democracy with security.”
Saghatelian went on to accuse the United States and other Western power of 
turning a blind eye to what called the Armenian authorities’ pressure on the 
judiciary, the existence of “dozens of political prisoners” and other human 
rights abuses.
“With you silence, you are contributing to dictatorship in Armenia,” he charged 
before the protesters again marched through the city center to demand 
Pashinian’s resignation.
Armenia - Parliament vice-speaker Ishkhan Saghatelian leads an opposition 
demonstration in Yerevan, .
Saghatelian also stressed that for the Armenian opposition Russia is a 
“strategic ally” while the U.S. and the European Union only “important partners” 
of Armenia.
Reacting to the protests last week, the U.S. State Department spokesman, Ned 
Price, urged the authorities to “exercise restraint.” He said at same the time 
that the protesters should “refrain from violence and respect the rule of law 
and Armenia’s democracy.”
The peaceful protests were sparked by Pashinian’s statements on the 
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict made after his April 6 talks with Azerbaijani 
President Ilham Aliyev.
Addressing the parliament on April 13, the prime minister said the international 
community is pressing Armenia to scale back its demands on the status of 
Karabakh and recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. He signaled Yerevan’s 
intention to make such concessions to Baku.
Both the U.S. and the EU hailed Pashinian’s speech. U.S. Secretary of State 
Antony Blinken praised his “courage and flexibility.”
Pashinian and his political allies have rejected the opposition demands for his 
resignation. They say that they won in the June 2021 elections a popular mandate 
to continue to rule Armenia.
Armenian Opposition Lawmakers Risk Losing Parliament Seats
        • Astghik Bedevian
        • Artak Khulian
Armenia - Ishkhan Saghatelian (second from right) and other opposition lawmakers 
lead an anti-government rally in Yerevan, .
The leadership of Armenia’s parliament has threatened to strip its opposition 
members boycotting sessions of the National Assembly and leading ongoing 
anti-government protests in Yerevan of their seats.
The 35 lawmakers representing the opposition Hayastan and Pativ Unem alliances 
began the boycott last month in advance of the daily demonstrations demanding 
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s resignation.
Under Armenian law, a lawmaker can lose their seat if they skip, for 
“non-legitimate” reasons, at least half of parliament votes during a single 
semi-annual session of the National Assembly. The final decision to that effect 
is to be made by the Constitutional Court at the initiative of the parliament’s 
leadership or at least one-fifth of the deputies.
Parliament speaker Alen Simonian said on Tuesday that he is considering 
initiating such an appeal to the court.
Armenia - Opposition supporters march through Republic Square, Yerevan, May 17, 
2022.
“There is a law which I believe must be enforced,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian 
Service. “We will hold a discussion and make sense [of the situation.]”
Simonian said the parliament majority representing the ruling Civil Contract 
will discuss the matter after the ongoing spring session of the 107-member 
assembly ends on June 17. Thirteen of the opposition lawmakers can be formally 
accused of absenteeism at this point, added the pro-government speaker.
Ishkhan Saghatelian, a senior opposition parliamentarian and the main speaker at 
the opposition rallies launched on May 1, dismissed Simonian’s threats.
Armenia - Parliament deputies fromt the opposition Hayastan alliance attend a 
session of the National Assembly, Yerevan, August 4, 2021.
“Let them start [such proceedings,]” said Saghatelian. “This is so secondary, so 
tertiary for us. They don’t understand and control the situation.”
Saghatelian and other opposition parliamentarians continued to lead on Wednesday 
groups of opposition supporters blocking roads and staging sit-ins at street 
intersections across Yerevan in a bid to step up the pressure on Pashinian’s 
government.
Riot police arrested more than 350 protesters in the morning. Police officers 
also tried to detain one of the lawmakers, Artsvik Minasian, but let him ago 
after realizing that he is a member of the parliament. They tore Minasian’s 
shirt in the scuffle.
Prosecutors Again Block Trial Of Former Armenian Police Chief
        • Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia -- Armenian police chief Vladimir Gasparian at a meeting in Yerevan, 
February 17, 2017
Prosecutors have again refused to give the green light to the trial of Vladimir 
Gasparian, a former chief of the Armenian police facing corruption charges, 
saying that a criminal investigation conducted by another law-enforcement agency 
was flawed.
The Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) charged Gasparian with six counts of illegal 
enrichment, embezzlement, fraud and other crimes in December. In particular, it 
claimed that he acquired over 2 billion drams ($4.2 million) worth of assets “by 
criminal means” when holding high-level positions in Armenia’s security 
apparatus from 2000-2018.
Gasparian denies the accusations. But he has avoided publicly commenting on them.
The ACC completed the investigation and sent its findings to prosecutors for 
approval in January.
The Office of the Prosecutor-General sent the case back to the investigators, 
however. The ACC condemned the decision as “illegal and unfounded.” It 
subsequently requested another endorsement from the prosecutors.
It emerged earlier this week that a prosecutor overseeing the probe refused for 
a second time to pave the way for Gasparian’s trial. The Office of the 
Prosecutor-General insisted that the investigators have still not submitted 
sufficient evidence in support of the accusations brought against Gasparian.
The development highlighted tensions between the two law-enforcement agencies 
that have been increasingly visible in the last few months. In January, the 
prosecutors refused to put their seal of approval on corruption charges leveled 
by the ACC against Aram Harutiunian, a fugitive former environment minister.
Gasparian, 63, headed the Armenian police from 2011-2018, during former 
President Serzh Sarkisian’s rule. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian sacked him 
immediately after coming to power in May 2018.
Gasparian had served as military police chief from 1997-2010 and as deputy 
defense minister from 2010-2011.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

CivilNet: Owner of gay-friendly Yerevan bar bombed in 2012 wins case against government in EU court

Hovhannisian John
CIVILNET.AM

10:05

  • Foreigners bought 140 homes in Armenia in March, according to the country’s Statistical Committee.
  • Anti-government protests continue for the third week in Yerevan.
  • The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against Armenia and in favour of the former co-owner of a queer-friendly bar in Yerevan that was bombed in 2012. Armine Oganezova, the co-owner, had appealed to the court, claiming that the Armenian government did not protect her from homophobicharassment campaigns or investigate the incident properly.

​Armenia – Georgia Cross-Border Cooperation: a Promising Start

Nahapetian Zhanna

Armenia – Georgia Cross-Border Cooperation: a Promising Start

LORI, ARMENIA 17 MAY 2022

Breaking down barriers, overcoming obstacles, building friendship, and promoting a common vision for a shared space are among the expectations of Mayors and senior local officials from Armenia and Georgia who have come together in the Debed River valley for the 1st Stage of Leadership Academy Programme for Cross-border Cooperation (LAP for CBC).

The aim of the Council of Europe is to bring countries closer together based on shared principles and common heritage which transcend boundaries. Building on the Conclusions of the Budapest Conference on Cross-border Cooperation, the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance has launched this interactive training programme in the context of the Democratic Development, Decentralisation, and Good Governance in Armenia project.

The activity was launched by two deputy ministers and members of the European Committee on Democracy and Governance: Mr Vache Terteryan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia, and Ms Mzia Giorgobiani, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia. Participants from several municipalities on each side of the border were joined online by their colleagues from central and local administrations eager to follow the training activity based on Council of Europe standards such as the 12 Principles of Good Democratic Governance.

The first stage of the LAP for CBC also offers participants the opportunity to develop ideas for cooperation based on culture, heritage, and technological cooperation through visits to the COAF Smart Centre, the House Museum of H. Tumanyan, and a tour of the Sanahin Monastery and Mendz Er Cave.

The project is implemented by the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance in the context of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia and funded by the Austrian Development Agency.

 

Armenian Protesters Paralyse Metro in Growing Unrest

Chakhmakhchian Vatche

By Reuters
|

(Reuters) – Protesters briefly shut down the metro network in Armenia’s capital on Wednesday, the metro operator said, part of growing anti-government unrest in recent weeks against possible concessions over territory disputed with neighbour Azerbaijan.

Footage from social media showed protesters standing in the doors of metro carriages, blocking trains from moving. The activists were demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and chanting anti-government slogans, TASS news agency reported.

“Citizens carried out protest action in Yeritasardakan metro station, disrupting metro traffic”, the metro in capital Yerevan said, adding that the doors to all subway stations had been closed in response.

In a statement published about an hour later, the metro said that traffic had been restored.

Over 350 people were detained across the city on Wednesday, RIA news agency reported, citing the police. A police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how many people had been arrested and why.

Protests have simmered for weeks since Pashinyan said the international community wanted Armenia to “lower the bar” on its claims to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The Nagorno-Karabakh enclave is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but was populated and fully controlled by ethnic Armenians until they lost to Azerbaijan in a six-week war in 2020. A Russia-brokered peace deal that ended the war led to a significant loss of territory for Armenia.

Armenia is currently a close ally of Russia, which has a military base in the northwest of the country and sent peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh under the accord that ended the fighting in 2020.

(Reporting by Caleb Davis in Gdansk; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-05-18/armenian-protesters-paralyse-metro-in-growing-unrest 




KerPak: Armenian technology of automated sales

Markos Nalchajian
Armenia –

Lunchtime approaches in the offices, and the main question the staff discusses is what or where to eat. If you choose to go to the store, you will line up for rather long, if you go to a cafe, you will have to wait longer than usual for the order because lunchtime is a “peak” hour.

And now imagine a frige with fresh and delicious meals installed in your office which will solve the “lunch problem” by simply downloading an app and paying with a bank card. KerPak Technology has imagined it and created an automated sales system that combines food and technology.

KerPak is an automated kiosk. In the future, sales will be expanded and include non-food products.

We talked to Vahan Vardanyan, the founder of KerPak Technology, about the creation, development of technology and its entry into the foreign market under the full “Made in Armenia” brand.

What is KerPak?

KerPak is an automated kiosk – a fridge which can be installed in any office. We got the name from the Armenian word “ker” (“eat”) and “krpak” (“kiosk”), but in the future, we definitely plan to sell non-food products in KerPak.

These kiosks are mutually beneficial – through it our partners enhance presence in places they are not represented at, and companies offer their employees a new service that is very convenient and already popular.

To buy food from KerPak, you need to download our app, register by attaching a bank card. The app will show you where the nearest kiosks are. To open KerPak fridge, you need to scan the QR code on it, select what you want and buy it by scanning the barcode.

Sometimes people ask, “what if I take the meal and leave without paying?” All our kiosks have AI cameras. We installed them to first of all see what problems a customer faces while using KerPak, but these videos, of course, can also be used for security purposes. Through the app, the customer can see what meals are in the fridge at that very moment. The menu is updated in real time.

Instead of buying, we decided to create our own technology

Founded 4 years ago, Gouroo Club & Garden was popular with visitors, but the flow of visitors in summer and winter differed a lot. We were thinking about how to resolve this issue and ensure a stable sale, regardless of the time of the year.

On the other hand, I often traveled and worked with foreign partners. I started noticing such fridges in their offices. The first time I used such a kiosk was in Moscow. It was served by my favorite restaurant. Within minutes I scanned the QR code, paid with the card and without going anywhere and wasting time, enjoyed the food of my favorite restaurant.

My first thought was to buy this solution and localize it in Armenia, but after studying foreign markets and similar solutions, I realized that they are quite expensive and not very flexible. Given to my experience in the IT field, I decided not to buy, but to create my own Armenian technology.

Initially, we created KerPak Technology to enter the global market and considered Armenia as a pilot one.

Our system is designed so that even today it can work outside of Armenia, accept payments in different currencies and work with the financial systems of about 40 countries.

KerPak is a new source of income for our partners

The first KerPak was launched about a year ago. We currently have 15 operating kiosks, more than 3,500 users and 4 partners. Most of the KerPaks are installed in the offices of IT companies, as after talking to the heads of these companies, we realized that they do need them.

Image by: KerPak

People in the IT industry often work overtime or in different time zones so having a fridge with fresh meals in the office is very convenient. We will not limit ourselves to this and will expand. We recently installed KerPak in one of the banks, and it works quite well.

Image by: KerPak

In our fridges you can find EasyEat meals, this is a project of Gouroo restaurant, we have Aries Lunch, Foody branded kiosks, and recently we have been joined by Garun cafe. The network of partners will be expanded. Cooperation talks are already underway with other restaurants. This cooperation has a number of advantages for restaurants. First, it allows to better utilize their kitchen, that is, to prepare meals, when the flow of visitors is not intense, and sell them at lunchtime. Second, restaurants can sell their meals in places where they are not physically present, thus expanding the network and gaining a new source of income. This makes our partners very happy.

Presented meals and quality control

KerPak is a technological solution and is responsible for the operation of automated kiosks, while the restaurant, which is represented in KerPak, deals with the logistics issues of meals and their refreshments. In the fridges you can find the favorite meals of partner restaurants, as well as meals prepared especially for this format. The possibility to work with the data of the system enables to compile and modify menus. Partners can see what the customers buy the most and compile a menu based on this data.

Image by: Mediamax

Everything in the fridge has date of expiry, and if the meal is out of date, KerPak will simply not allow you to buy it. All our fridges monitor the heat. If the temperature there is higher than allowed, the fridge will send a warning signal. After a few warnings, the fridge will turn off, not allowing you to buy. We fully provide the technical security, while our partners are responsible for the meals. But if we see that a partner regularly faces a quality problem, we will stop working with him/her.

Image by: Mediamax

KerPak is a completely “Made in Armenia” technology

Technically, the team consists of two parts. Our software partner is Instigate Mobile. As for the device, it is assembled in Armenia by LimeTech company. The idea and the final design of the product – everything from the beginning till the end – are made in Armenia. This is a circumstance that makes us feel really proud.

It is completely “Made in Armenia” technology. This is also very important for the team, because technology companies often work on foreign projects from Armenia, while in this case they create Armenian technology, which will very soon enter the international market.

The first exports were made to Switzerland and Canada

When we realized that this product is ready for export, we started looking for companies that will help us enter the international market. We can not name them yet, but we have already made exports to Switzerland and Canada. We will be going to the United States soon. This technology will be presented as “Made in Armenia” brand in all countries.

We plan to expand the format of these automated kiosks in the future. In addition to fridges, there will also be a freezer version, for example, for ice cream. There will also be mobile kiosks for non-food items, such as cosmetics. Our goal is to move from a limited space – a fridge, a cabin, a freezer – to a larger scale, that is, to build automated small stores, like the well-known Amazon Go.

Yana Shakhramanyan

Photos by Emin Aristakesyan


Foreigners bought 140 homes in Armenia in March

Emil Karabekian
PanARMENIAN
Armenia –
– 16:37 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Foreigners made 140 real estate transactions in Armenia in March, according to information provided by the National Statistical Committee of the country.

Most homes were bought by Russians who made 68 transactions. Citizens of the United States came in the second with 30 transactions, followed by European nationals with 22.

Yerevan is the most popular place of residence among foreign buyers who purchased 79 homes in the reporting period.

Foreigners not only purchased, but also sold real estate, data shows, making 300 transactions, including 221 by Russian citizens.

In total, 4,859 transactions were made in the Armenian real estate market in March, which is almost identical to the volume of sales in March last year (4,883 transactions). At the same time, transactions of purchase and sale of land plots prevail (41.9% of the total number of transactions).

https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/300355/Foreigners_bought_140_homes_in_Armenia_in_March

Armenian MP tells PACE to listen to what Karabakh kids have to say

Arbi Tashjian
PanARMENIAN
Armenia –
– 17:11 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Lawmaker from Armenia bloc Armen Gevorgyan delivered a speech at a meeting of the PACE Subcommittee on Children on Wednesday, May 18 and urged his colleagues to think about ways to make the voices of Karabakh children audible and the ways to involve them in the pan-European processes aimed at defending their rights and freedoms.

“I would like to speak about the fact that there are places within the Council of Europe where children’s rights, their problems and difficulties are out of our attention. These are unresolved conflicts,” Gevorgyan said.

“During the last session of the Assembly, the Commissioner for Human Rights announced that she could not visit Nagorno-Karabakh to learn more about the situation on the ground. The Azerbaijani authorities oppose such a visit. You know why? Because she could see how the Azerbaijani authorities are creating an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty about the future, especially for the younger generation.”

Gevorgyan noted that ordinary European children have been living in independent Karabakh for more than thirty years now, except they have a “more acute” sense of patriotism and justice.

“Unlike many of their European peers, they know what war and peace are, in the age of globalization they clearly understand what independence is, how it is achieved and maintained. They are a rare thing in modern Europe. they are the generation of independence,” he added.

Representatives of World Land Trust visit Caucasus Wildlife Refuge in Armenia

Kajoyan Gevork
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia –
, 10:40

 

Representatives of the British World Land Trust (WLT) visited the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge (CWR) in Armenia to learn about the work carried out by the partner organization – the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC).

Accompanied by the director of the foundation Ruben Khachatryan, WLT representatives toured the refuge, visited reforestation sites and got acquainted with wildlife rescue sanctuary, ecotourism, community development and other projects. FPWC staff presented the vision of the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge and the action plan for 2030. Problems and possible solutions were discussed.

“It is very important for us that our partners get acquainted with all the programs implemented by the Foundation within the framework of its mission. I am glad that our partners were impressed with the work done and are ready to continue supporting to elaborate projects  for the sake of protecting Armenia’s biodiversity,” Ruben Khachatryan said..

World Land Trust Director of Conservation Richard Cuthbert is in Armenia for the first time. “I have heard a lot about Armenia, all my expectations were justified in terms of the huge work done by the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets and their dedication. I am very impressed with how well the work is done,” he said.

World Land Trust Conservation Programmes Manager Charlotte Beckham visited Armenia on several occasions before.

“During each of my visits I see the development that has taken place after the previous visits. Years ago, when I first came here, there was nothing in the territory of the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge, but today everything is different. It is very impressive to see what you have achieved during this period,” she said.

The World Land Trust has been supporting the programs of the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets and Caucasus Wildlife Refuge for years.

The British organization founded in 1989 is engaged in the protection of endangered habitats around the globe. It supports the implementation of programs in more than 20 countries.