By Alina Arustamian
At the last stage of the Media Dialogue 2020 for Pluralism and Understanding, the Union of Armenians of Ukraine presented the activity of the Armenian diaspora in Ukraine to the project’s participants.
Martin Sahakyan, an activist of the Union of Armenians of Ukraine, student of IIR, started his speech with a brief history of Armenians in Ukraine, who have been living in the country since ancient times. As he said, numerous Armenian colonies existed in Western Ukraine and Crimea. The Armenian population had its own magistrate and judicial system. An Armenian bank existed in Lviv. That is why nowadays the heritage of Armenians is mainly concentrated in Lviv and Crimea.
Furthermore, the history of Ukraine includes a number of famous figures and personalities of Armenian origin. Including Anna of Byzantine from the Armenian imperial dynasty of Byzantium who christianized the Kievan Rus, Ivan Aivazovsky, the best marine painter of his time, Sergei Parajanov, a man who set new trends in world cinema and worked on the territory of Ukraine. And, Serhiy Nigoyan, who became the first to give his life for freedom and democracy in Ukrainian society during the Revolution of Dignity.
“Today the Union of Armenians of Ukraine continues the work of their compatriots. This is the idea of free and successful people who make the world a better place to live. UAU is the only organization that unites 23 communities and 18 youth organizations in Ukraine. The goal is the consolidation of Armenians, integration into Ukrainian society, preservation of national identity” – saidMartin Sahakyan.
To achieve its main goal, the Union of Armenians of Ukraine actively works and directs its activities in various fields. Within the organization operate several committees.
The historical and Cultural Committee works for the restoration of Armenian churches, popularization of the history and culture of the Armenians of Ukraine, support of scientific activities in the field of Armenian studies, recognition and condemnation of the Armenian genocide.
For instance, a social video clip about the Armenian genocide named “Thanks for the chance to blossom again”, released with the support of the UAU, was presented at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2019, this video was broadcasted on 31 channels, including the central TV channels, with which there is close cooperation. Moreover, every year on April 24, the Armenians of Ukraine organize events in memory of the victims of the genocide.
With the support of the UAU, dozens of khachkars, unique monuments of Armenian architecture, are established throughout Ukraine and the largest Armenian church in Eastern Europe is being built in Kiev.
Books and magazines about the Armenian heritage in Ukraine are also actively being published. For example, the last book is named “Temple architecture of Armenians in Ukraine”.
The Education Committee oversees the work of more than 30 Sunday schools for the study of the Armenian language, history, dance and culture in Ukraine. Every year many intellectual quizzes and projects are organized in these areas. One of them is the largest IT forum in Ukraine. It is held annually in Zaporozhye and is attended by tens of thousands of people who are interested in technology.
In fact, at the moment, with the support of UAU, the electric vehicle industry is developing in Armenia, as well as infrastructure – the country’s first large skate park is being built in Yerevan.
The Sports Committee provides support to Armenian athletes in Ukraine. The most successful of them receive apartments to live in for their high achievements in sports.
In addition to the active work of committees, every year, the Armenians of Ukraine implement humanitarian projects in Armenia. During the recent Nagorno-Karabakh war, tons of humanitarian aid was handed over to refugees from the Republic of Artsakh.
The Union of Armenian Youth of Ukraine is the youth organization at the UAU that unites the whole Armenian youth of Ukraine. “Our goal is to preserve and popularize the Armenian heritage and to create free platforms for successful communication and development.” – said Martin Sahakyan from the UAU.
The UAYU also implements several projects that support young Armenians and provide them with opportunities for development, self-improvement and preservation of their national identity.
For instance, once a semester, three of the best Armenian students in Ukraine receive a scholarship for their high academic achievements.
Every year the Armenian Youth Forum gathers in Kyiv several hundred young Armenians who strive to develop. The speakers of this forum are successful people of Armenian origin. Thanks to this project, communication between the Armenians in Ukraine is preserved, many of them find friends, business partners or compatriots with whom they can fulfil their dream project.
The winter camp is an annual free project that takes place in Transcarpathia. 70 participants from all over the country come here. For 9 days the UAYU organizes meetings with leading experts of the country. On the basis of the winter camp, joint ideas are generated for the work of UAYU in the future. The members create projects that will be implemented by the organization throughout Ukraine.
And another annual UAU project is the summer camp. Several dozen of the most talented Armenian children of Ukraine and several children invited from Armenia get here. They spend two weeks in the Odesa region, on the Black Sea coast, learning their native language, history, culture, dances, songs. Participation in the camp is also free.
As Martin summed up, this is only a part of the activity of the Armenian diaspora in Ukraine. Every year the directions of the UAU’s work expand and open new opportunities for Armenians that live far from their motherland: “Our activity never ends. From year to year, our efforts will be directed towards the prosperity of Armenians in Ukraine, towards their success and integration into society”.
