On May 29, 80 delegates from 15 countries participated in the 7^th Assembly of Delegates of the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society. Among other participants were RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan, RA Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan, RA Ambassador to Lebanon Ashot Kocharyan, Rector of Yerevan State University Aram Simonyan, other officials, as well as well-known artists and intellectuals.

The event began with opening remarks by President of Hamazkayin Foundation Lilit Galstyan and was followed by the showing of a video dedicated to Hamazkayin’s 80^th anniversary.

Greeting the guests, the RA Minister of Diaspora mentioned: “The idea of holding the Assembly of Delegates of Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society in the homeland for the second time is not an end in itself. Becoming established in the Homeland, Hamazkayin formed a new culture in the strengthening of bonds between the Homeland and the Diaspora, introducing new qualities to the policy on national culture. Hamazkayin has always been a powerful ��?weapon’ for preserving the Armenian identity in the Diaspora, as well as for disseminating and advocating Armenian culture.” The minister ended her speech with the following words of Nerses Shnorhali: “Unity-primary, freedom-secondary and love-in everything.”

Hranush Hakobyan granted the Commemorative Medal of the RA Ministry of Diaspora to the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society.

RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan and Chairman of the Society’s Central Committee Vatche Papazian signed a Memorandum of Partnership for the strengthening and development of the Armenia-Diaspora partnership in science, education, publishing and culture.