July 18^th marked the end of the Armenian language courses for the 4^th stage of the “Ari Tun” Program. There were children who didn’t know the letters of the Armenian alphabet or were partially fluent in Armenian. The teachers didn’t spare any effort to fill the gap in a short amount of time. In this stage, there were amazingly more Armenian children for whom the teachers became their first teachers of the Armenian language.

Both the teachers and the children were motivated, and this could be seen during the literary and musical event that marked the end of the courses. The event began with a performance of the Armenian national anthem, followed by a performance of the Armenian song “Ayb, Ben, Gim” (ABC), an Armenian ethnographic dance and the reciting of a poem.

The inspiring poem “Tagh Hayreni Lezvi” (Words about the Armenian Language” by Armenian poet V. Tekeyan was presented in the melodic Western Armenian. The seven sanctities of the Armenian people were shown on illustrated panels, after which the participants recited the “sun-tasting” lines of Yeghishe Charents’s poem “Yes Im Anush Hayastani…” (My Sweet Armenia…), which have become something like an anthem for all Armenians. The children also shared the thoughts and proverbs of great Armenian thinkers about the Armenian language. The event ended with a performance of the dance song called “We Are Armenians”. A sign with the logo of the “Ari Tun” Program was drawn during the event.

At the end, Head of the Division for Scientific and Educational Programs of the Department of All-Armenian Programs at the RA Ministry of Diaspora Sirvard Hambaryan gave her welcoming remarks in which she said the following: “The teachers of the school that conveys the feeling of patriotism of Charents, under the direction of Principal Anahit Khechumyan, show great support to the “Ari Tun” Program and to the pro-national act of preserving the Armenian identity,” Sirvard Hambaryan stated in her speech.

The following are the teachers of the fourth stage:

Shoghik Pahlevanyan

Gaiane Barseghyan

Aida Ohanyan

Sarah Shahinyan

Makruhi Gevorgyan

Narine Gevorgyan

Lusine Hayriyan

Gaiane Babloyan

Let us remind that the fourth stage is being held with the participation of 124 young Armenians from Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Belgium, Belarus, Sweden, Germany, France, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Syria, Kazakhstan, Lebanon and the United States of America.