On July 13, 2024, the opening ceremony of the Hamazkayin Student Cultural Gathering (Forum) took place in one of the halls of the Hovnanian Foundation adjacent to Republic Square in Yerevan.
Twenty young Armenians are participating in the gathering, which continues through July 24; they hail from the United States, Lebanon, Syria, France, Canada, Australia, Armenia, and Artsakh.
Doing Donabedian, who leads Forum 2024, opened the program. He asked participants to observe a moment of silence in memory of Armenian martyrs. He then discussed the program for the coming 11 days.
Several Hamazkayin leaders greeted the participants. They included Central Executive Board members Ara Kevorkian, Arevik Caprielian, Dikran Babikian, and Ardashes Shahbazian; Hamazkayin Foundation president Spartak Karabakhtsian; and Yerevan Office manager Ruzan Arakelyan.
A video familiarized the participants with Hamazkayin’s variety of activities around the world.
Participants had a chance to spend time with the Nubar Folk Song and Dance Collective. After that, there was a dinner to welcome everyone.
On July 14, a Sunday, participants visited the Charents Arch, Garni, the nearby Symphony of Stones, and Geghard. That evening, dinner was a quiet, casual affair.
Participants visited the Mother See at Ejmiadzin and Saint Gayane Church on July 15. They then toured Arshaluys village. There they observed and participated in Ruben Nalbandyan’s School for Master Khatchkar Makers. Khatchkars are engraved stone crosses.
Everyone got excited about two first-time experiences in the village: baking lavash and engraving in stone.
In the evening, participants met Birthright Armenia country director Sevan Kabakian, who spoke about the program, which brings young Armenians from the diaspora to live in Armenia with a host family and do volunteer work for no less than nine weeks.
The next day, participants visited the monument to the 1918 victory at Sardarabad. They then paid their respects, at the military pantheon at Yerablur, to the memory of soldiers killed in the four-day war of 2016 and the 44-day war of 2020. The young people then went to Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex to pay their respects to the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. They also visited the museum there.
That evening they visited the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies, the free-of-charge educational center for teenagers.
On July 17, the students visited the American University of Armenia, where they met Meghry Khoshian, the director of admissions, who answered participants’ questions.
Next on the agenda was the National Assembly, where participants met with opposition members of parliament Kristine Vardanyan, Gegham Manukyan, and Artur Khachatryan, all from the Hayastan caucus.
Participants also visited the museum and library of the parliament. They donated recent Hamakzayin publications to the library.
That afternoon, participants visited the Khnko Aper Children’s Library. There they watched the performance of the Sipan Dance Ensemble from Cyprus and then spent time with members of the ensemble, dancing together.
