The results of the 2013 Pan-Armenian Awards “For notable contribution to preservation of the Armenian identity” were summed up and the winners received their diplomas during a solemn ceremony on Mar. 28. The Pan-Armenian Awards are held by the RA Ministry of Diaspora, the World Armenian Congress and the Union of Armenians of Russia.

The 2013 Pan-Armenian Awards were held with the participation of 158 Armenian organizations and individuals from nearly 10 countries around the world. The award ceremony was held for the fifth time. The number of participants is on the rise and the geography is expanding.

This year the contests were held in the Defender of the Native Language, Best Youth/Student Organization, Best Children’s Work (“Homeland, This Is How I See You” and “My Sweet and Precious Mother”) and Best Armenian Community of the CIS countries categories.

The participants received the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and encouraging prizes. Some of the award recipients transferred their financial awards for charity purposes. The “Armenian National-Cultural Autonomy” Organization of Saint Petersburg received the Grand Prize in the Best Armenian Community category. The financial award (500,000 AMD) was transferred to the Syrian-Armenian Relief Fund). The winner of the second prize in the same category was the Armenian community of Kiev, which transferred its financial award (300,000 AMD) to the family of citizen of Ukraine Sergey Nigoyan (Nigoyan died from a sniper’s shot in Maydan on January 22, 2014). Second prize recipient of the essay contest in the “My Sweet and Precious Mother” category Arpine Babalaryan (Tyumen, Russia) will transfer her financial award (100,000 AMD) to the secondary school in Khndzoresk. First prize winner of the contest in the Defender of the Native Language category Svetlana Tonapetyan will transfer her financial award (250,000 AMD) to the “Support to Families Deported from Karabakh and Families of Deceased Freedom Fighters” NGO.

Several other award recipients also wished to transfer their financial awards for charity purposes.