Her Side of History
Lerna Ekmekcioglu brings Armenian womenís voices out of the shadows
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September 28, 2010
Discover Armenia Successfully Completes Its 7th Season
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Discover Armenia participants visiting Garni. -
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Discover Armenia participants volunteering for a community service project in Vanadzor. -
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2010 participants on one of their community service projects in Vanadzor.
From August 7 to August 26, 2010, 31 young Armenians were brought together to participate in AGBU's 2010 Discover Armenia Youth Trip. Now in its 7th year, Discover Armenia brings together 15-18-year-old diasporan Armenian youths to spend an unforgettable few weeks in their homeland. This year, the program saw young Armenians come together from the following seven countries: Canada, France, Greece, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States. The program was coordinated by AGBU Diaspora Youth Programs Coordinator in Armenia, Hermine Duzian.
Participants visited various sites in Yerevan and the rest of Armenia, including Garni, Geghard, Goris,Khor Virap, Matenadaran, Mount Aragats, Noravank, Sardarapat, Sevan, Holy Etchmiadzin, Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial, and Vaskenian Seminary, as well as Karabakh. Discover Armenia participants visited the Yerevan offices of the Armenian Virtual College and AGBU, where they got acquainted with the organization's programs carried out in Armenia and Karabakh. Participating interns also toured the AGBU and Holy Etchmiadzin Children's Centers, and they were received by the Republic of Armenia's Diaspora Minister Hranoush Hakobian.
In addition to traveling around the country, Discover Armenia has a strong community component, promoting volunteerism and service to others. This year, participants joined forces with the Fuller Organization and helped build houses for underprivileged families in the Armavir and Lori regions. They donated new books to the foreign language literature stand of the Karabakh Children's Library, which was established by participants of the 2009 program. Students also visited the AGBU and Holy Etchmiadzin Senior Dining Centers, where they prepared and served meals.
AGBU is already getting ready to follow up the success of this year's Discover Armenia program with preparations for the summer of 2011, when a new group of bright, eager Armenian youths from around the world will arrive to explore their homeland. 2010 Discover Armenia participant Raffi Khatchadourian of New York said of his summer, "My trip to Armenia was an amazing experience. It was enlightening, and extremely rewarding."
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