On April 30, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan received members of the Genealogy group to be representing Armenia at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest, including Essai Altounian from Europe, Vahe Tilbian from Africa, Mary-Jean O’Doherty Basmadjian from Australia, Stephanie Topalian from Asia, Inga Arshakyan from Armenia and head of the Armenian delegation to Eurovision Gohar Gasparyan. Tamar Kaprelian from the USA was not attending the meeting since she was not in Armenia.

Minister Hranush Hakobyan cordially greeted the members and expressed her satisfaction with the unique idea and format for representing Armenia at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest.

“The idea of portraying the five petals of the Forget-me-not flower wonderfully symbolizes the unity of Armenia and the Armenians scattered across five continents of the globe. You all actually have the same roots, but by fate, you live in different countries and have come together to perform as a whole. Be rest assured that all Armenians are with you. You will hear the throbs of the hearts of 10-12 million Armenians,” the minister said. Afterwards, the minister presented the history and culture of Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora and urged them to stay connected to the land of their ancestors and bear in their souls the pride of being Armenian. The minister also congratulated the five members of the group on acquiring citizenship of the Republic of Armenia and receiving the passports of the Republic of Armenia and expressed confidence that that would be more binding for them.

Armenia’s representatives expressed gratitude for the cordial reception, the good wishes and words of encouragement, mentioning that all that was binding and that they would put in all their efforts to meet everyone’s expectations.

After the meeting, the employees of the Ministry of Diaspora gave flowers to the members of the Genealogy group, and the latter gave an impromptu performance of the song “Face The Shadow”, which is about universal values, love, solidarity, loyalty and the importance of preserving the legacy for the generations.