On April 19, 2010, ABC (Armenian-British Connect) board headed by chairman of the organization’s board Hayk Harutyunyan had the honor to represent the ABC projects and initiatives to the President of the Republic of Artsakh Mr. Bako Sahakyan, the Minister of Education and Science Mr. Vladik Khachatryan, the Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs Ms. Narine Aghabalyan and Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Artsakh Mr. Ararat Danielyan.
The aim of the meeting was to represent the current and future projects and discuss perspectives of cooperation in the field of education and culture.
Hayk Harutyunyan introduced the Regent’s School Thailand and the scholarship availability for IB, informing that previously they had had applicants from the Republic of Artaskh. “We are convinced that the number of applicants from Artsakh will increase in future since we plan to raise awareness on these scholarships and actively promote them,” mentioned Mr. Harutyunyan.
Mr. Harutyunyan also emphasized that the future prosperity of our country totally depends on the appropriate education of younger generation which nowadays is offered by the leading educational institutions abroad. Representing small but outstanding figure of young talented people in the Artsakh Republic who have received offers from the UK prestigious universities, Mr. Harutyunyan noted that in order to ensure their own investment in the development of the native country, the government must take due measures to warranty an appropriate workplace for the young people upon graduation. This would also serve as an incentive for the young people to return their homeland and apply their newly acquired knowledge and innovative ideas to the benefit of their own country.
Bako Sahakyan agreed and indicated about the scholarship availability awarded by the Government of Artsakh and the Minister of Education and Sciences added that one student already took advantage of this scholarship and now pursues an academic degree in a western institution of learning.
Hayk Harutyunyan added that in order to extend the network of qualified young people and ensure efficiency of their work ABC will establish its branch in Stepnakert and will continue to extend the scopes of its projects.
Noting that education and culture related issues are nowadays priority for the Artsakh Republic, the Head of the State demonstrated a willingness to make immediate steps in establishing strong relations and working out offensive strategies to achieve substantial impact. He also mentioned that Artsakh pays special attention to the issues of training and preparing professionals and he anticipated the “Armenian-British Connect” NGO to play its role in this field.
The ABC board presented its initiative to implement a pilot summer school project in the Artsakh Republic which will be held in July 2010. With a comprehensive programme incorporating the renowned the Round Square Association pillars (IDEALS – internationalism, democracy, environment protection, adventure, leadership spirit, and service to others) which will be delivered within 2 weeks, 50 teens of about 14 – 15 years old selected from local and the Artsakh Republic secondary schools on a contest basis will be challenged in their thinking and feel reassured that they are ready to take on senior leadership through the training and coaching support they will receive.
Another project that is planned to implement in partnership with the Artsakh community is the Youth NGO Clearing House (YNCH) project which will enable the NGOs operating in the Republic of Armenia and the Artsakh Republic to efficiently network, find ways to cooperate and design joint projects.
The Head of the State approved the ideas and expressed readiness to support the implementation of all the projects and initiatives prioritizing ABC’s role and responsibilities. The full report on the meeting is available online at http://www.president.nkr.am/en/news/meetingsWithDiaspora/895/
English
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