The Ninth Convention of Hamazkayin, held in Yerevan in May 2022, instructed the Central Executive Board to select a flag, motto, and anthem for the organization.
In September 2023, a flag was unveiled and blessed and put into use. The board has put a great deal of time into considering a motto and has consulted with regions and longstanding members in the regions. More than 20 written suggestions were considered.
The board selected one of them and prepared an explanatory note, which it shared with the regions.
The new motto of Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society is “Luisov, luisin” (With light, toward the light). Light is strongly associated with education and science. Culture and science are inextricably intertwined. Hamazkayin founders Levon Shant and Nigol Aghpalian ran the Boghosian School in Alexandria; they were zealous proponents of establishing a school of higher education; they took the school under their care in that direction. Levon Shant proposed to start an educational and cultural organization called Luis (Light) that would maintain a school in either Egypt or Lebanon. Later, with the establishment of independent Armenia, Aghpalian was appointed Minister of Enlightenment—spreading the light.
Light also symbolizes open-mindedness and progress.
Thus, the motto “With Light, Toward the Light,” represents science, education, civilization, and culture leading us toward a higher plane of developed, cultivated education and culture.
Considering the more specialized aspects of selecting a slogan, it may be noted that using the same word more than once and in more than one sense is effective. Repetition helps get the message across. A short motto comprising simple words is memorable. This slogan is also simple to pronounce and pleasant to the ears. It is relevant to the organization’s operations and reflects its nature. One of the organization’s major institutions is the Djemaran, which has a torch in its logo, used in the same sense of enlightenment.
Finally, the melodic nature of “Hamazkayin: Luisov, luisin” is appropriate.
Hamazkayin
Armenian Educational and Cultural Society
Central Executive Board
Beirut, 12 April 2024