From November 27 to 29, Yerevan hosted the Second Pan-Armenian Youth Forum entitled “Future”. The forum was organized by the RA Ministry of Diaspora, the World Armenian Congress, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and “Imast” (Meaning) Armenian Youth Association of Nizhni Novgorod and included interesting speeches by the representatives of youth organizations of Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora. Hayern Aysor’s correspondent talked about various issues related to the forum and the Armenian youth of Moscow in an interview with founding president of the Armenian youth organization of Moscow Papin Aproyan.

Hayern Aysor: Papin, please tell us about the establishment, mission and objectives of your organization.

Papin Aproyan: Our organization was officially registered in 2012. We help children. Our staff consists of 15 members, and we have nearly 150 members, most of which are Armenian. Our key objective is to help enhance the feeling of piety among people, in this case-the youth. There is not much love in the world, and no great value is created without love. Without love, our planet is doomed to perdition. There is no racial or religious discrimination against our members. The important thing is the human factor. The pillar for our organization is kindness.

Hayern Aysor: What is the memorable and large-scale event that your organization has held?

P. A.: Since I am first and foremost an Armenian and then a leader of an organization hinged on piety that doesn’t recognize borders, what concerns me the most, is the destinies of Armenians living abroad and the Armenian communities of the Diaspora. In that sense, I must set aside the humanitarian aid that we provided to Kessab. I must mention the several events dedicated to the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide. On this occasion, we released 100 shirts with the logo of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian cross on them, as well as with a reminder that in 1915, the Turks killed 1.5 million innocent Armenians. On the occasion of the Centennial, we printed informational leaflets about the Armenian Genocide and spread them across Moscow. The young members of our organization dispersed them in especially populated areas, including squares and the entrances to metro stations. There was a link to the Armenian Genocide 1915 website on the leaflets. In addition to these major events, our organization also participated in several festivals, international and all-Russian contests and competitions, visited orphanages and helped children with limited abilities, without any national discrimination.

Hayern Aysor: What did you get out of this forum? What do you think is the issue of pivotal significance that can help all Armenian youth gather and collaborate?

P. A.: The forum serves as a wonderful platform for Armenian youth of Armenia and the Diaspora to establish contacts and share their views, but the issues of pivotal significance are the real and accepted actions so that we can deliver reports on completed activities during the next forum. In that regard, the participants reached an agreement during the second pan-Armenian youth forum.

Hayern Aysor: Papin, have you ever thought of settling in the Homeland?

P. A.: I believe every Armenian has that dream and desire in his heart and that every Armenian always has the idea of returning to and building the Homeland.

Karine Avagyan