In response to the current political climate in Lebanon, AGBU has opened the doors of its Beirut center to close to 600 refugees from southern Lebanon. AGBU is in regular contact with representatives of the Lebanese Armenian community to receive updates on the situation, and hopes for an immediate end to the escalating humanitarian crisis in the region.

As summer camps and intern programs wind down for the season, AGBU is gearing up to open the doors of its newest school in Pasadena, California. The new high school will welcome students from Southern California's burgeoning Armenian community and be the latest addition to AGBU's 17 day schools around the world.

AGBU has distribute 10 ultrasound machines in Armenia and Karabakh. Committed to making them available to underserved areas, one machine has been donated to a newly opened clinic in Stepanakert, while others will be gifted to institutions in Kapan and Goris.

Other milestones include the AGBU-funded Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra's 80th Anniversary, which has been feted in Yerevan all year and the Karabakh Chamber Orchestra—another AGBU-funded initiative—which has completed its first-ever tour by traveling to Armenia for a special series of performances.

In Australia, the Melbourne committee has launched an innovative new website—AGBU Armenian Heritage Center—that contains the full transcripts of interviews with 40 Australian immigrants of Armenian background who have settled in Melbourne and Sydney.

BEIRUT CENTER A SAFE HAVEN FOR 600 LEBANESE REFUGEES

Close to 600 refugees from Southern Lebanon, displaced during the recent Israeli shelling, have been given refuge at AGBU's Alex Manoogian Center in the Zarif section of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Since July 12, 2006, an escalation of fighting between the Israeli army and Hezbollah fighters has forced almost a million Lebanese and hundreds of thousands of Israelis from their homes.

With a long tradition of humanitarian aid to the Lebanese people, AGBU first opened the doors of its Manoogian Center to refugees in the 1970s during the early years of the Lebanese Civil War. At the time, hundreds of Lebanese received shelter and humanitarian aid in the AGBU refuge.....

AGBU Distributes 10 Ultrasound Machines to Armenia and Karabakh Hospitals
On July 3, 2006, AGBU distributed 10 ultrasound machines to nine medical facilities in Armenia and a newly built clinic in Karabakh's capital, Stepanakert, to ensure that Armenian hospitals are equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic tools....

APO Marks 80 Years of Symphonic Excellence in Armenia
The 2005/2006 season marked the 80th Anniversary of Armenia's premiere symphony, the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra (APO). Funded by AGBU since 1992, the APO began their landmark concert schedule on September 23, 2005 culminating in the 80th Anniversary Concert on June 8, 2006....

AUG/SEPT CALENDAR OF EVENTS

North American YPs are proving that the summer is ideally suited for a retreat to catch up with new and old friends. Visit this month's online calendar for a complete listing of events.