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AGBU ANNUAL REPORT 1996-1997
The AGBU Central Board of Directors and its worldwide Chapter committees administer sixty-two elementary and high schools, community centers and offices in twenty-two countries, along with hundreds of ongoing and new educational, cultural and humanitarian projects. An estimated 400,000 Armenians are beneficiaries of AGBU programs annually.
Looking to the future...
Visionary, global non-profit organizations like AGBU have an important role to play in the economic and social advancement of a society: in our case, the preservation and promotion of the Armenian heritage and people. During its 91 year history, AGBU has focused on humanitarian aid, community development, cultural and educational programs.
These past two years, AGBU continued to broaden its outreach programs: Over 6500 students were enrolled in academic institutions. Scholarship grants were expanded to include graduate students in selected fields; cultural programs were designed to promote special talents and to tour various worldwide communities; youth programs ranged in age from pre-kindergarten to college as AGBU offered nursery classes, summer camps, olympic games, language, history and art courses, career-oriented internship; AGBU Young Professional groups organized exhibits, mentor programs, lectures and symposia; publications covered current events and the progress of worldwide Armenian communities reaching several hundred thousand readers. In Armenia, an American University, three children's artistic centers, a national philharmonic orchestra, a surgery center, grants to leading national institutions and humanitarian aid played a major role in the progress of the country during a difficult period of transition.
With our worldwide activities in twenty-two countries, we owe a debt of gratitude to over 1500 professionals who administer and work for the success of AGBU programs, AGBU chairpersons, their committee members and tens of thousands of dedicated volunteers who guide activities, give their time and energy to raise funds and to create and promote programs. And, we all join together in thanking the countless donors who contributed millions of dollars to realize the dreams and aspirations of our organization.
It is amazing to us that for almost a century the enthusiasm, commitment and generosity of friends and members of the AGBU have not only never wavered but continue to grow as each year passes. Third and fourth generation AGBU devotees seem to have inherited the same devotion to our mission as their parents and grandparents. With this kind of dedication, I know we can look forward to even newer and greater achievements in the twenty-first century.
Louise Manoogian Simone
President
AGBU INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS
Promoting the Armenian Heritage...
EDUCATION/YOUTH PROGRAMS
SCHOOLS
Education has always been a priority of AGBU. From 1909 to 1914 the Central Board of Directors established, as its first project, the opening of forty schools in Armenian villages and towns in Eastern Anatolia. After the horrors of the 1915 to 1921 Genocide, AGBU quickly remobilized its educational programs in temporary quarters for Armenian refugees in Syria, Greece, Egypt and Lebanon.
The first two permanent schools constructed by AGBU were the Nicosia, Cyprus based Melkonian Educational Institute in 1926 and the Tarouhi Agopian School for Girls in Lebanon in 1939. Over the next thirty-five years, fully accredited AGBU educational institutions expanded worldwide. Today, a network of thirty-seven AGBU administered or supported institutions and Saturday schools offer quality education to Armenian youth in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and Armenia. During this biennial report, enrollment for AGBU administered and supported academic institutions totaled 8,500 students. In 1996 and 1997 AGBU expended over $12,000,000 for worldwide schools.
SCHOLARSHIPS
Scholarships and loans were awarded to deserving undergraduate and graduate Armenian students throughout the world in 1996 and 1997. As a major priority of AGBU, financial assistance continued to enable 865 students in 27 countries to meet their educational goals. A total of $1,127,529 was distributed.
AGBU continued its special graduate loan program in the United States. Qualified full-time students enrolled in highly competitive universities were eligible to receive up to $7,500 in assistance. Acceptable areas of study included Master's Degrees in Communication, Educational Administration, Public Administration, International Relations, and Armenian Studies. A limited number of awards were made to candidates pursuing first professional degrees in Law and Medicine.
INTERNSHIPS
The AGBU Presidents Club, a council of major donors who support special youth-oriented projects, continued their sponsorship of an annual eight week summer internship program in New York City for university students and graduates. During these two years, 65 participants from ten countries had the unique opportunity to intern in medicine and research, law, journalism, banking, city government, media productions, education, investments and securities, and international affairs. During their leisure hours, interns enjoyed a wide variety of cultural events in New York City, and a specially prepared series of lectures and videos designed to enhance pride in their Armenian heritage. In 1997, the Intern Program celebrated its 10th Anniversary with over 125 alumni from five countries attending week-end festivities in New York City.
ATHLETIC GAMES
Athletic games have played a major role in bringing together children and young adults from around the world, often stimulating life-long friendships. AGBU Chapters in Montevideo, Melbourne, Sydney, Nice, Grenoble, Beirut, London, Detroit and Los Angeles have organized or participated in local and international games with some 1,000 athletes in the last two years. Additional thousands of members and friends have attended the competitions and festivities.
SUMMER CAMPS
AGBU Camp Nubar in Andes, New York, enrolled 185 students for two to six week sessions and Camp Kessab, Syria, over 200 participants both in 1994 and 1995. A two-week AGBU Camp was organized near Marseilles, France. Along with a variety of sport programs, special classes for Armenian language study were part of the summer's activities.
PUBLICATIONS/MEDIA/ARTS
AGBU News, published quarterly, was distributed to 90,000 families, institutions, embassies and government agencies. With the largest circulation of any Armenian publication in the history of the Diaspora, AGBU News, over the past seven years, has covered community life and events in Armenia, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Italy, Kuwait, Romania, Russia, South America, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and Fresno, Los Angeles, Texas in the United States. Included in each issue are articles and photographs of AGBU activities and donors around the world.
Ararat Magazine, published quarterly, offers fiction, non-fiction, biographies and poetry written by talented authors on a wide variety of subjects. The Armenian language Hoosharar, AGBU's oldest publication, distributed by the Central Board, covered AGBU events and programs for worldwide members. La Lettre de L'UGAB, published by the District Committee of France and designed for French language readers, covered AGBU news and political and economic news from Armenia. The newsletter is mailed to 2,000 subscribers weekly. The Sydney, Australia, Toronto, Canada, Beirut, Lebanon Melkonian Alumni, and California's Young Professionals publish bulletins and magazines covering local and worldwide AGBU News, along with their latest events.
AGBU worldwide chapters organized hundreds of local programs designed to promote the talent, history and traditions of their communities. Authors, scholars, artists, musicians, soloists and film producers were featured in exhibits, concerts and lectures throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and the Middle East.
ARMENIA
AGBU began its projects in Armenia in the late 1920's with the construction of the village of Nubarashen, a maternity hospital, eye clinic and an apartment building in Yerevan. Even though all foreign participation was banned by the Soviet Union in the mid 30's, AGBU was allowed to continue its allocations to universities, hospitals and the church throughout the ensuing years.
With the devastating earthquake in 1988 and the independence of Armenia in 1991, AGBU, through the generosity of its donors, began a new era of major educational, cultural and humanitarian projects which have to date served at least 500,000 people in the past six years.
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF ARMENIA
The American University of Armenia with an enrollment of 450 graduate students studying for their Master's degrees expanded its programs to include Public Health, Law, Conservation and Environmental Science, in addition to the original Business Management, Political Science and Engineering programs. With some 500 alumni as of 1997, AUA graduates are now serving in Armenian government ministries and agencies, foreign embassies, organizations and institutions, private businesses or pursuing further study in Armenia and abroad. With major grants from the U.S. government and AGBU donor, the late Astghik Shishmanian, construction was begun for a new AUA Business Center on Alex Manoogian Street in Yerevan. The building, to be completed in 1999, will house conference facilities, classrooms, offices and overnight facilities for AUA guests.
PLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY CENTER
With initial grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Howard Karagheusian Commemorative Corporation totaling $2,000,000, AGBU established the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Center in July, 1992. Specializing in severe burn cases, deformities, earthquake/war/work injuries, PRSC has treated some 6000 cases since its inception. In late 1997, the unit expanded its facilities, moving to the Proctology Hospital. The AGBU funded Center continues to offer free of charge surgery to its patients, along with the latest medication and supplies shipped in from the United States. Visiting teams of U.S. surgeons and nurses continue to assist the local staff in treating patients.
ULTRASOUND CENTER
In association with the Jefferson Ultrasound Research and Education Institute, the AGBU selected four physicians from Armenia to participate in the Diagnostic Ultrasound Fellowship Program at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. The Ultrasound Institute is directed by world-renowned researcher and educator Dr. Barry Goldberg. The three month intensive fellowship, sponsored with a grant from Nazar and Artemis Nazarian, was directed by Dr. Levon Nazarian, Asst. Professor of Radiology at Jefferson University. Ultrasound, a safe and relatively inexpensive method for imaging the body, is used as a diagnostic clinical tool for a wide variety of conditions. The Armenian physicians received instruction and hands-on training at the Institute in all applications of ultrasound, including interventional, abdominal, obstetrics and gynecology. The Ultrasound Center was established at Erebuni Hospital in 1996 and expanded its facilities and equipment in 1997.
NORK, ARAPKIR AND MALATYA CHILDREN'S CENTERS
The AGBU and Araratian Diocese in Yerevan joined forces in February 1993 to administer three Children's Centers. Formerly communist youth centers, the government of Armenia authorized the transfer of these properties to the church with funding provided by AGBU. With overcrowded schools and shortened class hours, the Centers provide history, language, art, music and sports programs each day from two in the afternoon to seven in the evening. The combined Centers have an enrollment of 5000 students, ages five to eighteen, and employ an administrative staff of four hundred. During this reporting period extensive renovations were begun to modernize the three facilities.
ARMENIA PHILHARMONIC
Recognizing the importance of the performing arts in Armenia, AGBU subsidized the 1996/1997 seasons of the one hundred member Armenia Philharmonic, the ninety member Yerevan Orchestra and the eighty member chorus. The yearly grants were allocated for weekly concerts of the orchestra, in-country tours, concert hall renovations, new instruments, transportation, salary supplements, international guest artists and special festivals. The Philharmonic has in the past four years successfully toured Austria, France, Greece, England and Iran and produced ten CD recordings. In 1996 the Armenia Philharmonic under the sponsorship of AGBU toured New York, Detroit and Los Angeles attracting capacity audiences of over 5000 in the three cities.
COLD FOOD STORAGE
Completed in 1992, the AGBU cold food storage facility in Gyumri, Armenia, stores tons of food shipped in by international humanitarian agencies which are distributed weekly throughout the northern region of Armenia, particularly to the still earthquake-damaged areas.
HUMANITARIAN AID
AGBU continues to serve some 1000 pensioners and orphans a daily meal at four soup kitchens in Yerevan, Sevan, Etchmiadzin and Hrazdan. For those who are ill or handicapped, special volunteers deliver the meals to their homes. This AGBU funded program is supervised weekly by the Ladies Committee of the Araratian Diocese.
ADDITIONAL GRANTS TO ARMENIA
Through the donations of annual donors and donor designated endowments, AGBU awarded the following grants to organizations and institutions in Armenia.
HOLY ETCHMIADZIN: Construction of a new cathedral in Yerevan; St.Hripsime Church; scholarships for seminarians; general administration.
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: Computer center.
MATENADARAN MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY: Security and fire alarm system.
YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY: Renovation of campus buildings.
STATE ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY: Installation of new heating plant.
SHARM PRODUCTIONS: Allocation for video program to be aired on television.
VOZNINER THEATER: Camera and computer equipment for production of films.
SEVAN SEMINARY: Construction of 60 student dormitory and chapel. Allocations for academic programs and library.
ARARATIAN DIOCESE: Computer equipment, youth programs.
CITY OF GYUMRI: Renovation of new academy of performing arts building, reconstruction of elementary and high school.
MISSION OF ARMENIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Diplomatic training program.
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