On September 22, at the initiative of the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia and the Argentina Chapter of the Armenian General Benevolent Union, Hakob Paronyan State Musical Comedy of Yerevan hosted a special concert wrapping up all the ten concerts held in the cities of Argentina, New York and other famous cities as part of the “What are YOU doing for Artsakh?” pan-Armenian movement launched by the Ministry of Diaspora.

The proceeds from the concerts (the concerts were held by Secretary of the Board of the Armenian General Benevolent Union Buenos Aires Antonio Sarafian and Honorary Member of AGBU Argentina, dudukist Gagik Gasparyan) were used to purchase 300 musical instruments, a part of which have already been transferred to the music schools in Kashatagh and Stepanakert, while the rest will be transferred to the other disadvantaged music schools of Artsakh on September 25.

Greeting the attendees, Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan stated the following: “Dear attendees, I think these days Yerevan is ��?breathing’ in the Armenian spoken by Diaspora Armenians, while Diaspora Armenians are enjoying the warmth of Yerevan. It gives me pleasure to express my greetings to the participants of the 6^th Armenia-Diaspora Pan-Armenian Conference and especially the Armenians of Argentina. This event serves as further evidence of the Armenia-Diaspora unity.” Hranush Hakobyan emphasized that even though the Armenian people are scattered across the globe, they are always connected to the motherland. “This movement, which was launched by the Ministry of Diaspora, reached out to South America, particularly Argentina, and it became a melody, music and turned into a series of concerts. The series has come a long way and is ending with a concert on this stage. It is our pleasure to dedicate this concert to the marvelous Artsakh. Artsakh is our remorse, our spirit and our pride. The Diaspora is our pride, and Armenia is our hope, the basis of our existence and the ��?oxygen’ for preservation of the Armenian identity. So, let’s have remorse, honor and hope so that Armenians become stronger in any part of the world.”

Secretary of the Board of the Armenian General Benevolent Union Buenos Aires Chapter Antonio Sarafian expressed gratitude to all the participants of the concerts, the artists, the foreign musicians and the Ministry of Diaspora. “When we were launching this initiative, we were dreaming of purchasing at least 200 musical instruments. Today, thanks to Armenian benefactors, we have already obtained 300 Armenian folk and classical musical instruments. We donated all proceeds from one of the concerts to the foundation established in the Patagonia settlement of southern Argentina as a way of expressing our gratitude to the Argentine artists who had joined our movement. This also served as a good way of speaking out about the Artsakh issue. However, our main goal and mission is to connect young Diaspora Armenians to the free and independent Armenia,” Antonio Sarafian stated.

Dudukist Gagik Gasparyan emphasized the following: “This is my tribute to the Mother Homeland after a 21-year interval and with a feeling of longing. Words can’t describe how I feel. I think what I have done to this point says it all.”

The concert featured performances by Merited Artists of the Republic of Armenia Arsen Grigoryan and Alla Levonyan, Argentine-Armenian dudukist Gagik Gasparyan, singers Vardan Badalyan and Samvel Galstyan, the State Orchestra of National Musical Instruments of Armenia (artistic director and principal conductor Norayr Davtyan), the State Dance Ensemble of Armenia and Ararat Armenian Dance Group of Córdoba.

RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan granted the Gold Medal of the RA Ministry of Diaspora to Honorary Member of AGBU Argentina, dudukist Gagik Gasparyan as a token of appreciation for providing remarkable services for the Armenia-Diaspora partnership, for contributing to the strengthening of relations between Armenia and the Diaspora and among the Armenian communities of the Diaspora, for the successes he has achieved in providing Armenian children and young people with an Armenian education and upbringing and for his great contributions to preservation of the Armenian identity.

Hranush Hakobyan also awarded Secretary of the Board of the Armenian General Benevolent Union Buenos Aires Chapter Antonio Sarafian with the Boghos Nubar Medal of the RA Ministry of Diaspora for carrying out charities and for his community service in Armenia and the Diaspora, for strengthening the active relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Diaspora and for his great contributions within the scope of the development of the Armenia-Diaspora partnership.

Representatives of the Armenian General Benevolent Union Argentina Chapter were awarded with the Gold Medal of the RA Ministry of Diaspora for their notable contributions to the development of the Armenia-Diaspora partnership, for their services provided to Armenia and the Diaspora, as well as for their contributions to the strengthening of relations with the homeland and among the communities of the Diaspora and to the preservation of the Armenian identity.

Antonio Sarafian handed a special commemorative gift over to the Minister of Diaspora. The participants and organizers of the concert also received commemorative gifts and certificates of appreciation.