On April 4, 2015, Hairenik Armenian Cultural Center of the Pavlodar Province of Kazakhstan celebrated its 20^th anniversary. Among the participants of the ceremony were Second Secretary of the Embassy of Armenia in Kazakhstan Mher Badalyan, the leaders of seven Armenian cultural centers forming a part of the Nairi Association, as well as representatives of the People’s Assembly of Kazakhstan, the local self-government bodies of the city and region and the community organizations of ethnic minorities.

The ceremony began with a Roundtable at the Home of Friendship with discussions on the perspectives of the development of Armenian national and cultural unions and associations in the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the activities of community organizations. The participants of the discussion mentioned that Hairenik Armenian Cultural Center has always aspired to be of help to Kazakh-Armenians, helping them become law-abiding citizens of Kazakhstan on the one hand, and helping them stay true to their roots and preserve the Armenian identity, language and culture on the other hand.

The ceremony continued at the “Dostek” (Friendship) Concert Hall of Pavlodar where the participants viewed books and samples of applied decorative arts on the sidelines of the event dedicated to the cultural center’s anniversary.

Prior to the concert, Deputy Governor of Pavlodar Province Nurzhan Ashimbetov expressed words of appraisal and mentioned that Hairenik Armenian Cultural Center helped establish the People’s Assembly of Kazakhstan and has organized many successful events. There were also others who expressed words of appraisal. Second Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia Mher Badalyan read the messages of RA Ambassador to Kazakhstan Ara Sahakyan and RA Deputy Minister of Diaspora Serzh Srapionyan in which the officials wished the cultural center success.

The heads of Armenian national and cultural centers from different regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan also expressed kind wishes. The event also included an award-handing ceremony.

President of the Hairenik Armenian Cultural Center Elmira Petrosyan received the certificates of honor of the RA Ministry of Diaspora and the Governor of Pavlodar Province, and board member of the Armenian cultural center Gnel Hakobyan received the medal “For Services to the Province”.

The event ended with a concert.