On March 22, the RA Ministry of Diaspora held a teleconference with representatives of the Armenian community of Tver.

Issues on the development of partnership between the RA Ministry of Diaspora and the Armenian community of Tver, the community’s active participation in pan-Armenian programs, as well as the organizing of events dedicated to the 101^st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and to the 25^th anniversary of Armenia’s independence were discussed.

The Armenians settled in Tver region in the 1950s and 1960s. There are 23 national communities in the region, and the Armenian community is among the top five. Based on the official statistics of the year 2010, there are 8,222 Armenians residing in Tver, and based on unofficial statistics-over 20,000 Armenians. The first Armenian organization in Tver was established in 1995, and the Ararat Armenian National-Cultural Autonomy was founded in 1999.

Greeting the participants of the teleconference, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan expressed certainty that the partnership that has begun will grow deeper and noted that preservation of the Armenian language is a current issue for all Armenian communities of Russia. “Armenian parents often can’t solve the problem with teaching their children Armenian,” the Minister said and suggested organizing courses at Russian general education schools by adding Armenian language classes in order to engage more students.

The RA Minister of Diaspora attached importance to the role of Armenian song and dance lessons for preservation of the Armenian identity. “By participating in the “Ari Tun” Program, the “Diaspora” Summer School Program, the “Im Hayastan” (My Armenia) Pan-Armenian Festival and the annual pan-Armenian awards, especially Diaspora Armenian youth will avoid assimilation, preserve the national identity and realize the importance of providing the generations with an Armenian upbringing,” the Minister emphasized.

The Minister noted that the paths for Diaspora Armenian youth to receive a higher education in the Homeland and to organize courses and their internships in Armenia can become the best way to help Armenians preserve their national identity in foreign countries.

“The “Hayern Aysor” (Armenians Today) online newspaper is first and foremost for our Armenian communities. All the events taking place in the Diaspora are always and impartially posted on the website,” the Minister said.

She noted that this year, Armenians around the world are celebrating the 25^th anniversary of the independence of the two Armenian states and called on the Armenians of Tver to be as active as possible in the events taking place within the community and in Armenia.

“The key objective of Armenia today is economic empowerment, and successful Diaspora Armenians can contribute to that by making investments in Armenia. They will gain profits and will help create jobs in Armenia. I believe that the borders with our strategic partner, that is, Russia are open and that all the necessary conditions are created for business,” Minister Hranush Hakobyan noted.

Head of the Department of All-Armenian Programs Gagik Gyanjumyan presented the pan-Armenian programs of the RA Ministry of Diaspora in detail and noted that even though the Armenian community of Tver is engaged in all the programs, efforts need to be made to increase the number of participants.

President of the Tver Regional Division of the Union of Armenians of Russia Seyran Kochkanyan attached importance to the initiative of the RA Ministry of Diaspora to organize the teleconferences, discussing the community’s issues in such a format and finding solutions quickly. “We are grateful to the Ministry for effectively providing the Armenian Sunday schools of the region with Armenian language textbooks a couple of years ago. This year, we still lack textbooks and will soon send a letter stating the number of textbooks that we need for the Mesrop Mashtots Armenian Sunday School, the Stepan Shahumyan Armenian Sunday School, the William Saroyan Armenian Sunday School and the “Armenian Home” Armenian Sunday School,” Kochkanyan noted.

President of Ararat Armenian National-Cultural Autonomy of Tver Yelena Gevorgyan particularly expressed her satisfaction with the “Im Hayastan” (My Armenia) Pan-Armenian Festival. “The festival made an indelible impression on the young members of the Krunk Dance Ensemble, which represented our community at the festival. We thank the RA Ministry of Diaspora for organizing the festival properly. This year, we will try to send more ensembles and individual performers to the Homeland,” Yelena noted.

Deputy Minister of Diaspora Serzh Srapionyan congratulated the representatives of the community on the reestablishment of Ararat Armenian newspaper and wished the editors success.

President of the National-Cultural Autonomy of the Armenians of Tver region Vardevan Meltonyan, President of the Rzheyev Division of the Union of Armenians of Russia Kamo Zargaryan, President of the Konakovo Regional Division of the Union of Armenians of Russia Sargis Nahapetyan, President of the Kimri Regional Division of the Union of Armenians of Russia Hamlet Kocharyan, Vice-President of the Ararat Armenian National-Cultural Autonomy of Tver Seyran Safaryan and representative of the Youth Organization Harutyun Avetisyan talked about their organizations’ activities aimed at preserving the Armenian identity, as well as the efforts being made to expand the engagement of participants in the programs of the RA Ministry of Diaspora.