Ghevond Alishan claims to be “one of the oldest and most active non-governmental nonprofit organizations in Armenia.” The organization’s mission is to:

• share and celebrate Armenian language and culture
• provide educational and cultural services to refugees and national minorities living in Armenia
• promote cultural values through information exchange
• carry out research, education and publishing activities

Ghevond Alishan’s programs include:

1. Summer camps and seminars on Armenian language and culture for refugees (partly financed by the UN)
2. Creation of a “psychological-cultural adaptation center” for refugees
3. Getting Familiar With Armenia— group visits to historical places
4. Not by Bread Alone: publication of manuals, textbooks, dictionaries that are successfully used in language training courses
5. Children Are Our Future: summer and winter camps for refugee children
6. Refugee women and their problems— social adaptation of refugee women and creation of a data bank
7. Know Your Motherland—a special psychological-cultural adaptation program for refugees

   Educational achievements of Ghevond Alishan include:

   • Let’s speak Armenian, a two-volume textbook (for beginners and advanced learners) addressed to the Russian speaking population of Armenia
   • Publication of Russian-Armenian and Armenian-Russian dictionaries, for beginners and advanced learners
   • A series of workshops for refugees explaining legal documents on citizens’ rights and the right to vote
   • A multilingual illustrated dictionary (funded by a grant from USAID/Save the Children)
   Ghevond Alishan representatives have participated in international conferences in Dublin, Atlanta, and Beijing. Locally Ghevond Alishan has ties to the All Armenian Women’s Union, the Maternity Fund, and the Armenian Cultural Fund. Representatives of the organization also participated in a “Management and Leadership Core Training” organized by the Armenian Assembly of America’s NGO Training and Resource Center in Yerevan.

   The summer courses in Armenian language and culture (this year to be held between July 4-27) are offered at three different levels: beginners, intermediate and advanced. Participants receive intensive instruction in Armenian language (24 hrs./week), and also study Armenian literature, history, and culture. Course work is supplemented by evening concerts, theater, meetings with Armenian leaders, and excursions to important sites outside of Yerevan. Fees are reasonable and those who cannot afford them may apply to the Board of Ghevond Alishan for a scholarship. For refugee migrants the courses are free of charge.

   Ghevond Alishan’s Cultural Tourism Center offers foreigners the opportunity to visit Armenia, sightsee, and learn about Armenia’s people and culture. It can arrange meals, excursions and lodging, either in private flats in central Yerevan or in hotels.

   Additionally, for a fee the Center arranges meetings between visitors and Armenians working in specific scientific, cultural or commercial fields. An interpreting service is also available.

   For further information, contact:

   Ghevond Alishan Association
   Svetlana Aslanian, Ph.D, President Nalbandian Str. 27/25, apt.7
   375001 Yerevan, Armenia
   Tel: (374-2) 585677
   Fax: (374-2) 151795
   E-mail: [email protected]
   (Please write, “for Ghevond Alishan,” in the subject line of the e-mail message.)

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   This article is from the March/April 1996 issue of
   Civil Society ... East and West

   For more information or to order a subscription, see our publications page.

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   The URL for this page is: http://solar.rtd.utk.edu/~ccsi/csew/96-03/ghevond.htm
   Last updated: August 2 1996

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