Azad-Hye Special
The Ministry of Diaspora will start this summer “Come Home” (Ari Doun / Ari Toun) program, with the aim of encouraging young Diaspora Armenians to visit and get first hand experience in the country of their ancestors.
The program aims also at enhancing national values and introducing the visiting youngsters to issues of national identity, traditions and the psychology of the local Armenian population.
Starting from July 2009 several groups, aging 14-25 would be invited, to spend a period of two weeks with specially selected families.
Local self-governing bodies will be selecting the hosting families. Yerevan and other districts of Armenia such as Kotayk, Ararat, Armavir and Aragatsoten are involved in the program. Cultural, educational, youth and athletic organizations in Diaspora will be promoting the program in coordination with the Armenian diplomatic missions.
The attendants will have useful contacts with peers in Armenia; will know more about the cultural and historical wealth of the country. Language and literature lectures will be delivered, besides the usual visits to tourist locations. Several meetings with Armenian officials are planned too.
Minister Hranoush Hagopian heads the meeting of the committee related to the Ari Doun program and the other bodies involved in the program.
Minister Hranoush Hagopian, as head of the coordinating committee for Ari Doun program, had a meeting recently with the committee members. She presented the full package of activities related to the first group of young Diasporans who will arrive on 15 July 2009.
The 100 participants from Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Russia, Ukraine and Georgia will be accommodated in pre-arranged households. The hosting families have been selected based on strict criteria. All involved bodies including the Ministry of Diaspora, Police Directorate, Civil Aviation Department, Municipality of Yerevan, District Centers of Kotayk, Arakatzotn and Armavir, expressed their readiness to welcome the guests and to help them realize the mutual goals.
This first group will pave the road for the others to follow. A new tradition with hundreds and thousands of youngsters flocking to Armenia for their summer vacations, may soon become a reality.
Website of the Ministry of Diaspora:
http://www.mindiaspora.am
Department of Media and PR,
(+374 10) 585601, internal 108
URL of Ari Doun program (in Armenian)
