Organized by the Committee of the Moushegh Ishkhan Chapter of Hamazkayin, the first General Meeting of the chapter took place on Saturday, June 11, 2011, at 7:00 pm at the Villa Rotana in Dubai. Around 35 members who had come to the Emirates from various Armenian communities, such as Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Cyprus, and Canada took part in the meeting.
Nshan Basmajian, the chairperson of the chapter welcomed the participants and said the Moushegh Ishkhan chapter aims to support the cultural life of Armenians living in the United Arab Emirates, to promote interest toward Armenian culture, follow the development and spread of culture and through it, support the Armenian cause, as well.
The meeting was comprised of the following discussion points: a historical review, the presentation of a film dedicated to the 80thanniversary of Hamazkayin, presentation and discussion of the project and, finally, a performance by the saxophonist Hovsep Chaghlasian.
Seta Mangasarian, the secretary of the chapter, presented the historical review, while Mr. Basmajian reported on the chapter’s previous year’s activities. The participants agreed that besides its cultural mission, Hamazkayin also has the responsibility to prepare future Armenian generations.
Several topics related to Armenian youth and students were discussed during the meeting, as well as ways of grouping them around Hamazkayin. Every member was presented the opportunity to express his/her thoughts and the spheres in which they prefer to work.
Toward the end of the meeting, the chairperson thanked the participants and said that henceforth the youth has the task to increase the ranks of Hamazkayin.
