Through AGBU’s diverse array of camps in the diaspora, Armenian youth from all over the world have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to establish lasting friendships, learn new skills and expand their horizons.

Camp Nubar

This year, Camp Nubar, located in the Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York, welcomed over 380 campers and counselors from Armenia, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Monaco, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and across the United States for its fifty-third season. While campers return year after year to enjoy camp activities such as Armenian dance, ceramics, sports, swimming, tennis, horseback riding, hiking, and waterskiing, Camp Nubar continues to introduce new activities based on the interests of its campers. In 2016, the camp added a new music activity where campers learned to play the ukulele and dumbek. This summer, campers also participated in a workshop and performance led by international artists from the Argentina-based New Docta Festival and Foundation.

“I can only imagine how proud Camp Nubar’s great founders would be if they saw the camp’s evolution over the past 53 years,” said Camp Nubar director Jennifer Omartian. “Thanks to their foresight, today’s campers share in many of the same pastimes as the earliest campers. It amazes me that the Camp Nubar community successfully preserves so many traditions while embracing the changing interests of today’s Armenian youth. 2016 was a wonderful year for Camp Nubar, and the staff is excited for an even better 2017!”

Colonie de Vacances

In 2016, AGBU France held the thirty-third season of its Colonie de Vacances in the mountains of Haute-Savoie this July. For three weeks, 110 campers, counselors and directors from Armenia, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom enjoyed a wide range of activities, indoor and outdoor games, and sports, including football, tennis, swimming and rafting. One of the highlights of this year’s season was its Open House, which welcomed nearly 200 parents and friends for a performance prepared by the campers. Colonie de Vacances was also treated to a visit and presentation by Ara Khatchadourian, an AGBU alumnus who reached the top of Mount Everest this spring and dedicated his achievement to the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

“The key to the success of the camp that has been offering unforgettable experiences to several generations of diasporan Armenians is staying true to its goal of passing our rich heritage to campers from a very young age by giving them a chance to experience life in an Armenian atmosphere, creating a small Armenia in the French Alps,” said Colonie de Vacances director Herminé Duzian.

Demirdjian Center Summer Day Camp

This year, the AGBU Demirdjian Center Summer Camp set a record, bringing together more than 190 campers both from Lebanon and oversees. Along with its sports, arts and cultural programs and weekly educational fieldtrips, this year also marked the introduction of new activities, such as artistic gymnastics, “healthy mind and healthy body,” app development and a new, special program for campers ages 13 and over.

AGBU Lebanon wrapped up the Demirdjian Center Summer Day Camp with its end-of-season fiesta during which the students performed famous folk songs and dances dedicated to this year’s theme: Tribute to Lebanon. During the fiesta, the campers also celebrated the 110th anniversary of AGBU, the 85th anniversary of AGBU-AYA and the 20th anniversary of the AGBU Demirdjian Center, directing all of the proceeds from the celebration to the AGBU Emergency Humanitarian Relief Fund for Syrian Armenians.

Community awareness has always been integral to the mission of the AGBU Demirdjian Center Summer Day Camp. This year, campers fundraised through bake sales for different charitable organizations (e.g. Children’s Cancer Center, Birds’ Nest, Zvartnots Center for the Mentally Ill, etc.) and volunteered at the Faqra Club Race organized by the Beirut Marathon Association to benefit MySchoolPulse, an organization that brings schools to hospitals in Lebanon for children undergoing treatment for life-threatening illnesses.

“If school teaches science, history and languages, then the AGBU Demirdjian Summer Day Camp introduces the secrets of fun, lifetime friendships, cooperation, group work, culture, art and Armenian identity,” said Ararat Djeredjian, coordinator and dance instructor at the AGBU Demirdjian Summer Day Camp.

Camp HayLer

AGBU HayLer celebrated a fifth summer full of exciting programs for the Bulgarian Armenian community. The camp was attended by 21 children from Burgas, Pazardjik, Plovdiv and Varna, ages three to fifteen, who came together in the middle of the picturesque Rhodope Mountains.

In between sports competitions, Armenian Virtual College (AVC) classes, religion classes and a carnival night organized by teenage students at the AGBU Plovdiv Saturday School, the campers also met important leaders of the Armenian community of Bulgaria, including AGBU Plovdiv chapter chair Rupen Chavushian; His Reverence Archimandrite Isahak Boghosyan, the archbishop of the Armenian Diocese of Bulgaria; scout leader Melik Dzhamdzhiyan, who taught the campers outdoor survival skills; dancer Lilith Hayrapetyan, who taught the campers to dance the Kochari; and director Simon Hachmanyan, who helped the campers put on an Armenian children’s play.

HayLer International Summer Youth Camp

At the HayLer International Summer Youth Camp, thirty-eight campers, ages seven to seventeen, from Sofia, Russe and Vienna as well as three Armenian children originally from Syria-now living in Austria-took part in the fifth season of the summer camp in central Bulgaria. The campers learned Armenian songs and dances and welcomed special guests, including Gevorg Garibdjanian, councilor at the Armenian Embassy in Sofia; Bedros Papazian, AGBU Sofia Chamber Orchestra director; and Archimandrite Isahak Boghosyan, who blessed all the children. Campers were also treated to a Skype conversation with AVC teacher Aprineh Tavakalian, who taught them about Armenian festivals.

“Having grown up as an Armenian in America and the United Kingdom, it’s a very special experience to have been able to be a part of the HayLer International Summer Youth Camp. It’s wonderful to see smiling children keeping Armenian traditions alive in these wonderful surroundings here in the forests of Gabrovo. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and I hope to return again next year,” said photographer Raffi Youredjian, a special guest at this year’s session.