A Quest for Acknowledgement
Anoush Baghdassarian on the power of oral testimony
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April 30, 2010
AGBU Athens Celebrates International Women's Day
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(Left to Right): H.E. Gagik Ghalachian, Ambassador of Armenia to Greece, and Hagop Fesjian, Chairman of AGBU Athens, speaking at the March 6th International Women's Day event in Athens, Greece. -
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A view of the International Women's Day celebration by AGBU Athens on March 6, 2010.
On March 6, 2010, AGBU's Ladies Auxiliary Committee hosted a dinner and dance devoted to International Women's Day. The event was held at the Hrant and Louise Fenerjian Hall of the A. Kalpakian School.
Introductory remarks were made by Aghavni Dolmajian, who spoke about the tireless - and oftentimes unrecognized - work of women around the world. Armenia's ambassador to Greece, His Excellency Gagik Ghalachian, also gave his own opening comments. Following their remarks, Hagop Fesjian, chairman of AGBU's Greece Chapter, and H. Jelalian, one of the attendees, both spoke and discussed the importance of March 8. The date is significant as it is the birthday of Rosa Luxemburg, one of the pioneers of the international labor movement. The movement was established as International Women's Day exactly one hundred years ago at the suggestion of Clara Zetkin and symbolizes the struggle of women for equality in the workplace, society, and political arena, as well as all the advances and successes made for women, by women, throughout the years. The holiday was observed in Armenia for the first time in 1921 and is recognized by the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
The opening speeches ended with the invocation of Fr. Khoren Arakelian. Also in attendance were Reverend Vicken Cholakian and the entire staff of the Armenian embassy, as well as Hasmik Beglarian and Hripsime Danielian, two singers invited from Xanthe. The singers contributed to the success of the evening by singing Armenian, Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, and English hits. Attendees joined in by participating in some of the songs, and they spent the rest of the evening singing and dancing. The venue, which was completely filled with guests, had a warm and festive atmosphere. The evening affair was unprecedented, and a fitting, highly successful observance of International Women's Day.
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