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Na/Ne Media Award Ceremony in Yerevan

Yerevaan, 2 February 2010, OSCE Press Release – The winners of an annual competition for journalists reporting on women’s accomplishments in Armenia’s political, economic and social life were announced today. The second annual Na/Ne (S/HE) contest was co-organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan as part of its activities to increase the role of women in Armenia’s public and economic life, and the British Council, as part of its Wo/Men in Politics project funded by the British Embassy in Yerevan.

Some 70 media outlets took part in the contest. An jury composed of representatives from the media industry and gender organizations selected winners in a range of categories, including best TV, radio, print and online entries, as well as the best blog posts and the best advertisements. “A key challenge in Armenia is that the skills and talents of women are not fully utilized. It is thus very important that the media raises awareness of the roles that women can play in public and economic life to help move Armenia forward,” said Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, the Head of the OSCE office in Yerevan.

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Exhibition within Armenian Walls: The British Collection of Worldwide Modern Art in Yerevan

The name of the exhibition organized by the British Council – “Rock, Paper, Scissors” – is associated with a favorite childish game for many, however it symbolizes the interaction between sculpture and painting, the two and three-dimensional. On January 20-28 about 50 exponents of the British Council Collection are being exhibited in Albert & Tove Boyajian Gallery of the Yerevan Academy of Fine Arts. Some of the works are shown for the first time promising to be a revelation for many students and lecturers.

The exhibition presents works by outstanding sculptors Henry Moore, Bernard Meadows, William Turnbull and others created via various printing methods from the 1950s to the present day. One of the methods is screen printing which makes possible to get copies almost identical with the originals, linocut or etching.

“This is a small albeit interesting and encouraging surprise in the dull reality of Yerevan. For years, the artists whose works are being exhibited were like a dream for me,” says art critic Nazaret Karoyan: “Of course, I had a chance to see their works before, but not in Armenia.”

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Pashinyan sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment

Photo by Meliq Baghdasaryan, Photolur

 

A moment ago, the verdict against oppositional Haykakan Zhamanak daily chief editor Nikol Pashinyan was delivered in the Nork-Marash district court. He was accused of organization of mass riots and use of force against policeman. Pashinyan was acquitted by the court under RA Criminal Code article 316 (use of force against authority), however he was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment under the 255 article (organization of mass riots). The defense repeatedly stated that prosecution failed to provide any proof of Pashinyan’s guilt. After March 1, 2008 events he went underground, afterwards yielding himself to authorities on July 1, 2009.

Source: http://news.am/en/news/12438.html

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Тraditions: Old Armenians Met New Year Focused on Spiritual Values

New Year, Amanor (New Year), Kaghand (Armenian Santa Claus), Tareglukh (the first day of the next year), Avetis (good news), Navasard – it doesn’t matter the name, as in all cases the meaning is the same – a start for something new. The oldest nations marked New Year in March. Then the cultivation activities began and March was considered as the first month of the year. January 1 was declared the New Year beginning only in 46 B.C. by Julius Cesar.

In Armenia, the New Year is celebrated since the times when, according to a legend, the forefather Haik defeated Bel. Navasard was the first day of the year and was celebrated in August. Then the pagan Armenians began to celebrate New Year in November and since the 18th century – on January 1. According to Armenian mythology Amanor was Amatur’s wife – the God of nature and harvest, Kenats Tsar (Tree of Life) – symbol of fertility. According to artist Lusik Aguletsi the New Year ceremonies lasted 12 days and were closely related to church rituals.

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Cinema Through Web: A new Platform for Armenian Young Directors

A new website has been launched in Armenian web world to serve as a resource center for amateur film makers and young directors, movie and cinematography fans, as well as for general audience. The first Film Portal in Armenia will provide information on Armenian cinematography, regularly updated news about local and international movie industry, news about actors, interesting facts from their lives, etc.

The founder of www.cinematic.am is Vahan Gasparyan, student of directing department of Yerevan State Pedagogical University. According to him, the website will enable young directors an opportunity to demonstrate their works and receive professional feedback from more experienced colleagues and general audience for further improvements. As a young director Gasparyan is familiar with the difficulties that a young director could encounter.

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Ice Age in Yerevan: Figure Skating becoming Fashionable, Frozen Traditions Turning Into Life

Ani Sargsyan, 16, has a favorite season. It is winter. She is waiting for it not only for the New Year holidays but also for figure skating. And she doesn’t imagine her life without it. Four days per week she goes for skating to Karapi Lich (“Swan Lake”) near the Opera House.

“It is something different for me; every time I feel freedom while skating. Skating is flying for me. I can’t give up,” says Ani. She says first time she went figure skating school with her parents when she was four. And when she heard that a rink has been opened in Karapi Lich she decided to attend there because the ice in the figure skating school was not so good.

“The skating rink of Karapi Lich is really the only way for me to be in the form. I like everything there: it is an open air area where people watch how we skate and we do our best like an actor on the stage,” says Ani. In Armenia the traditions of figure skating were formed more than 30 years ago, when the first figure skating school was opened in 1972. It was very popular in the Soviet Armenia, being also a rink for the Armenian hockey players. During Soviet times it had about 600 students annually. Over the last several years it has about 200 skaters.

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The United States Embassy in Yerevan Marked International Human Rights Day

The United States Embassy in Yerevan marked International Human Rights Day by presenting the Armenian Freedom Defender award to Edik Baghdassaryan at a reception given by Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch at the Embassy. Baghdasarian is the founder of the Association of Investigative Journalists and the popular HETQ news agency.

In the words of Ambassador Yovanovitch, Baghdassaryan “has shown great courage in tackling and writing about some of the sensitive and challenging issues facing Armenians as they move their country toward greater democratization. His daunting work has exposed cases of corruption, human rights abuses, illegal business practices, and the indignities of human trafficking.” This is the second year that the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan has presented the Armenian Freedom Defender award. Last year’s winner was Mikael Danielyan, Chairman of the Helsinki Association of Armenia.

Source: US Embassy News http://armenia.usembassy.gov

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Armenian Media Digest, November 17-23

1. Certificate Issued: Pashinyan Runs for MP

On November 19, the Administrative Court of Armenia satisfied the claim of the chief editor of “Haykakan Zhamanak” newspaper, the opposition representative Nikol Pashinyan. As Lragir.am informs, the court obligated the Police of Armenia to provide the plaintiff a certificate of permanent residence in Armenia over the past five years. Documents on Pashinyan’s nomination as MP candidate were presented to the district election commission 10 of Yerevan on October 30.

Due to lack of a certificate from the police, the documents were deemed incomplete. After receiving the certificate, Pashinyan’s representatives submitted all documents to the district election commission on November 23. 34-year-old Pashinyan was wanted a year and four months, and voluntarily surrendered to law enforcement agencies of Armenia on 1 July this year. Currently Pashinyan’s case is under investigation. Elections in the constituency 10 are scheduled to be held on January 10, 2010.

2. Concerns on the Future

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American Documentary Showcase Launched in Yerevan

Screening of American documentaries is being held till the end of November in Yerevan. This program is part of an international tour organized by the U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. As a result of a thorough selection 29 documentaries produced between 2004 and 2008 have been selected out of 300 films. They are devoted to the issues of democracy, ecology, migration, health, ethnic diversity, innovation, education and family.

As stated in the speech of the US Ambassador to Armenia Mary Jovanovich the film show will promote deepening of mutual understanding and relations between two countries with rich tradition in the field of cinematography. According to the assistant of Public Relations Department of the US Embassy Susan Brendson the US Embassy has been organizing cultural programs for already 10 years in Armenia, however earlier they applied just to the music and choreography.

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Armenian Politicians Getting Interested in Blogosphere

The first blogs in Armenia were registered more than 5 years ago, though last year only deserving public attention. For the first time in 2008 the press service of the president of Armenia invited the bloggers to Serzh Sargsyan’s press conference. After a month the president had another meeting with them and answered their questions. Before that event a few journalists only knew about the blogs and bloggers.

“At first we were “loggers”, and then considered as somewhat extraordinary and new, without whom however it was impossible to pass the way to Europeanization and democratization,” says blogger Sergey Chamanyan. According to him, the invitation to the president’s press conference became a significant event, as it was an opportunity to explain their civic position. However the bloggers’ initiative to address questions to the president was responded differently by the Armenian mass-media. The press began to discuss the appropriateness of engaging bloggers in such events.

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