Several of FAR’s Anoosh Mathevosian Scholarship Program beneficiaries took the initiative to begin a small library for several schools in the Kashatagh region in Nagorno-Karabakh. The students collected several books by different Armenian, Russian and foreign classic writers, in addition to several historical reports and dictionaries. This new resource will help to enrich the selection of books in the libraries, and the children will have a chance to be exposed to classic works and become better acquainted with Armenian history. All the collected literature will be on loan until the end of May.

*Rima Sargsyan is one of this year’s Anoosh Mathevosian Graduate scholarship recipients.

Mathevosian scholarship students classify the books.
Credit: FAR Staff

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A two-day seminar on maternal and child health protection was held at the end of April in Tsakhkadzor. Neonatologists, obstetricians and gynecologists who are involved in the FAR Training of Provincial Doctors Program, or CME, participated in this seminar by attending professional lectures given by leading specialists. Lectures covered important topics, which pertained to both practical medicine and health strategies in maternal health.

The rapid development of medicine demands that doctors be prepared to treat patients in the best way possible by possessing the latest knowledge about developments in the field. The CME program is testament to the fact that FAR values the importance of continuous medical training in Armenia. In addition to spending one month in Yerevan for training, CME participants are continually able to participate in seminars to keep up on the latest advancements, and to connect with other medical professionals.

The maternal and child health seminar was approved by Armenia’s Ministry of Health, which also granted participants certificates of completion.

Neonatologists, obstetricians and gynecologists gathered
in Tsakhkadzor to participate in a seminar on maternal
and child health protection.

Credit: FAR Staff

Gyumri Information Technology Center’s MLab, a program supported by Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF), began its mobile technology training courses this spring. The aim of the trainings is to develop mobile programming skills in the Shirak region.

During a two-month pilot course, which was held during GTech’s winter break, students were taught program design by experts from Yerevan-based programming companies specializing in iOS/iPhone, Blackberry, and Android application program development. Forty students who are mostly from Gyumri and the surrounding Shirak communities are currently involved in the program.

Through the work of the students, two mobile applications have been developed and with the support of EIF, both have been made available for download in the Apple App Store. GTech is in the process of organizing a “training of trainers” where Blackberry programming experts from abroad will teach mobile technology skills in an effort to create more local specialists.

Similar to GTech’s Web Technologies Department, the new Mobile Technologies curriculum requires students to complete two years of coursework, which includes lessons in C++ and Java programming, as well as project management and various other related specialized subjects.

“The final goal of the new Mobile Technologies Department is to create a business team that can work on the many mobile-focused development projects that we have been receiving from abroad,” says GTech Director Amalya Yeghoyan.

Amalya also mentioned that students are signing contracts, which require them to work in Gyumri after graduation even though the present employment situation is bleak. With the formation of the Gyumri Technopark, however, she hopes that all of the graduates will be able to stay in Gyumri and help build the local economy.

A new GTech curriculum aims to boost the capacity
for mobile technology development in the Shirak region.
Credit: FAR Staff

FAR, in partnership with Armenia’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and several other local and international NGOs, recently helped to carry out an international conference entitled “Social Work in the Context of Current Social Reforms: Reality and Perspective,” which was recently held in Yerevan. Prime Minister Tigran Sarsgsyan delivered an opening speech emphasizing the importance of social reforms and the perspectives of social services. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Artur Grigoryan, Secretary-General of the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) Rory Truell, President of the IFSW European Region Nicolai Paulsen, and representatives of international and several local NGOs were also present.

FAR also held an exhibit on its educational, child protection and social services projects, including the Children of Armenia Sponsorship Program, its soup kitchens, the Vanadzor Old Age Home and the FAR Children’s Center. Staff also spoke about projects where FAR has provided direct assistance to kindergartens in the villages of Aygepar, Chinar and Zangakatun. Projects relating to the support of special schools and orphanages were also highlighted.

Prime Minister Tigran Sarsgsyan delivers the opening speech.

FAR’s exhibit allowed visitors to learn more about its
educational, child protection and social service programs.

Staff members like Veronika Mkrtchyan, who works with
FAR’s educational programs, talks with visitors.
FAR Educational and Scientific Programs Coordinator
Eduard Karapetyan answers questions from visitors.

Country Director Bagrat Sargsyan speaks about FAR’s diverse programs.

Credit: Eduard Karapetyan

Natela Aghamalian is someone who has devoted her life to improving scientific development of her mother country. The Institute for Physical Research at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia is one of the country’s leading science centers. Each year more than five research groups from this institute are awarded ANSEF grants. Natela Aghamalian, a leader of one of these groups, received ANSEF grants in 2007 and 2012. In addition, she has received ANSEF grants four times for her individual work. Engaged in research for more than 38 years, she is a member of the Armenian Crystallographic Association and the Armenian Optical Society. Her current ANSEF project focuses on the study of electrical and optical properties, which is important for the development of new chemical and biological sensing applications.

Natela Aghamalian talks with FAR Educational and
Scientific Programs Coordinator Eduard Karapetyan.

Natela Aghamalian (left) has devoted her life
to scientific development in Armenia.
Credit: FAR Staff

For more than a month, recipients of the Jerar Nishanian Foundation Scholarship Program have organized rights trainings for the children of Gavar orphanage. The goal of these trainings is to increase the children’s general knowledge about law and judicial issues pertaining to children, particularly for those without parental care. The Gavar students, who are all studying law, are able to relay the information through cartoons and other similarly digestible formats. For example, during one of the discussions on educational rights, children were informed about their access to education, including higher education. In addition, the children are introduced to FAR’s scholarship programs.

The trainings were initially devised by Armine Aghoyan, a third-year law student at Gavar State University, who during the conversation with me emphasized the following, “I think the organization and implementation of such seminars are very effective because children are able to get informed about their rights and responsibilities, and as a result, they are able to become advocates of their own protection and become more self-confident.”

Armine Aghoyan, a law student at Gavar State University,
has helped to implement trainings at Gavar orphanage
where children are able to learn about their rights.
Children participate in discussion.

Credit: FAR Staff

Early in the morning on April 24, the line of people on their way to Yerevan’s Genocide Memorial seemed to go on forever. It has been 97 years since the Armenian Genocide was organized by the Ottoman Empire, during which over 1.5 million Armenians were killed. The wounds from this horrific event in our history haven’t healed yet. The Armenian Genocide is the first crime of its kind of the 20th century, and the international community has not properly recognized it.

FAR scholarship recipients were among those who attended the march, joining in the movement to reject Turkey’s policy of denial and to properly recognize all genocides throughout the world. We clearly understand that mourning the loss of our nation shouldn’t be mistakenly carried out through vengeance or hatred, but through love of life and creativity, and by promoting the welfare of the Armenian people. And we also wish to promote greater awareness among Turkish children and students our age.

Karine Hovhannisyan is one of this year’s recipients of the Anoosh Mathevosian Scholarship.

Thousands of people gathered at the
Armenian Genocide Memorial on April 24.

Many of FAR’s scholarship recipients attended the commemoration.

“Mourning the loss of our nation shouldn’t be mistakenly
carried out through vengeance or hatred, but through
love of life and creativity, and by promoting the welfare of
the Armenian people,” says Karine Hovhannisyan.

The line of people on their way to the memorial that day seemed endless.

Credit: FAR Staff

FAR’s longtime partnership with the Luys Foundation, an organization that aims to involve Armenia’s youth in positive cultural, social and institutional change, has impacted the lives of many of its scholarship students. Most recently, several of FAR’s Mathevosian Scholarship Program recipients have been involved in community service trainings with the Luys Foundation.

Anahit Grigoryan, a graduate student at the Armenian State University of Economics, recently completed a three-month internship, during which she became involved with the administrative and organizational activities of the Luys Foundation by taking part in various meetings and networking with new contacts.

FAR scholarship recipient Janna Haroutunyan, a fourth year student at the International Relations Department of Yerevan State University, last July took part in the Luys Foundation’s Develop Armenia Program. She, along with dozens of other Armenian students also studying at prestigious universities, received a scholarship from Luys and spent two weeks in the village of Tsapatagh, in the Gegharkunik region (marz). During this period they helped to build a local playground, while also getting acquainted with the challenges of rural life.

Mathevosian recipient Ani Kalashyan, a fourth-year student at the Armenian State University of Economics, was enrolled in the Luys Foundation’s One Laptop Per Child Program. Last September, Ani completed a three-day certification training at the Tumo Creative Technology Center in Yerevan, which was led by experts from Argentina. In order to improve and develop computer skills, the program plans to provide children from Karabagh and Armenia with computers and teach them how to use them.

At the end of each Luys Foundation program, students receive certificates for their active participation in public affairs. This partnership is very important to each of them, and they hope that these experiences will help them in their future career development.

FAR scholarship recipient Janna Haroutunyan
(sixth from right, in sunglasses) recently spent two weeks building
in a playground for children in a rural region.

Ani Kalashyan (left) helped to teach computer literacy
to the children of Armenia and Karabagh.
Credit: FAR Staff

Recently, FAR partnered with two Armenian Rotary Clubs – Rotary Yerevan International and the Rotary Club of Yerevan – to support villagers. On April 15th, the Rotarians and FAR paid a visit to the school, where they and the children planted fruit trees around the school building. The pupils and the teachers were also happy to receive school stationery sets from FAR. The Rotarians have tried to renovate the school by fixing the potable water pipe. In addition, they provided books, some furniture and equipment, and also arranged for excursions to Yerevan for the children.

“We are getting wealthier with each visit from our friends,” said the school principal. “We cordially thank the Rotary Clubs and FAR for thinking about the village and, most importantly, the school. Proper education is key to raising educated citizens.”

FAR hopes to see other charitable organizations step up to help the wonderful children of Tigranashen and their school so this town can grow in the future.

FAR recently partnered with Armenian Rotary Clubs to help the
children of Tigranashen, a small village near Azerbaijan.
FAR staff and Rotarians helped children to plant trees around the school building.

With good care, these trees will yield fruit in the coming years.

Credit: FAR Staff