On April 26th, 2019, with the participation of the first-year students of YSUIB “Foreign languages” specialty, K. Harutyunyan, PhD, Associate Professor, Acting Head of the Department of English Language and Literature conducted an open lesson on “Places of Interest in Tavush”, in Ijevan Dendropark.

During the lesson, the lecturer introduced Armenian towns and villages in Tavush, its sights, historical monuments, monasteries and churches.

The towns of Ijevan and Dilijan were especially differentiated from the places presented.

Among the places of interest of Ijevan, the central park, botanical garden, geological-historical museum were presented. From the historic-architectural monuments of Ijevan, Makaravank, built in the 10th-13th centuries, was presented.

It was underlined that Dilijan was also distinguished by its nature, national park, historical and cultural monuments. Among them are Haghartsin, Goshavank, Matosavank, Jukhtak monastery.

Students were full of love and admiration for the native region.

The lesson was held in an engaging and pleasant atmosphere.

On April 25th, 2019, YSU Ijevan Branch hosted a literary-musical event dedicated to the 150th Anniversary of Komitas, an Armenian priest, musicologist, compser, arranger, singer, and choirmaster, the founder of the Armenian national school of music.

The event was organized by Aida Sarhatyan, Associate Professor, PhD, lecturer of the Department of Armenian Language and Literature.

The event was attended by members of the administrative and professorial staff of YSUIB, priests and clergymen, guests, second and third-year students of “Armenian Language and Literature” specialty.

“Yesterday was the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day … in our history and on our calendars a black day and date … 1915, April 24 …

104 years have already passed, but still our nation continues to eradicate the mystery of 1.5 million Armenians of the bloody genocide … They have become mysterious flowers of forgetfulness that every spring blossom on the motherland…

Let recite their names once again: Zohrap, Varujan, Siamanto, Ruben Sevak … and … thousands and millions … Komitas, whose song has been left unfinished and faded to lips, but even 100 years later it sounds, it will sound even after 1100 years… “.

 The literary-musical event began with the sounds of the Armenian composer, singer, musicologist, arranger and teacher, choirmaster, conductor, educator, founder of the Armenian National School of Music, Komitas Vardapet.

For more than an hour, the attendees have enjoyed the masterpieces of Komitas, songs, music and poetry.

Indeed, singing and the recitation of the 2nd and 3rd year students of the specialty “Armenian Language and Literature”, their dance was really surprised the audience.

At the end of the event, Acting Head of the Department of Armenian Language and Literature, PhD, Associate Professor V. Avagyan and Bishop Arshavir Asatryan of the Diocese of Tavush conveyed their heartfelt gratitude to Aida Sarhatyan, the organizer and participants of the event.

“Our nation gives us such great thinkers as Narekatsi and Kuchak, Metsarents and Charents, Tumanyan and Komitas … (which one to mention?) They have always been the core part of our national and cultural life. They were not just the intelligentsia, but also those who reflect our homeland and nature, our love and sorrow, sufferings and dreams”.

Thus at the literary-musical event dedicated to Komitas Vardapet, our students paid a tribute to the Armenian great thinkers and poets.

The photos of the event are available in the gallery.

On April 18 and 23, 2019, within the framework of the internship of 2018-2019 academic year, second-year students of YSUIB  “History” specialty of Full-time training system, made visits accompanied by the Supervisor of the internship, Lecturer of the Department of Armenian History and Social Sciences A. Mkrtumyan.

On April 18, they visited Ijevan Historical-Cultural Museum where they got acquainted with the activities of the museum, collection of samples and present exhibits.  The students asked their questions to the researcher accompanying them.

On the same day, the students visited the churches of St. Amenaprkich and St. Nerses Shnorhali in Ijevan, got acquainted with the history of churches, church holidays, rituals and holy clothing.

 On April 23th, 2nd year students of “History” specialty visited Haghartsin and Goshavank church complexes within the framework of educational internship.

 After studying folklore materials and its stories, students got acquainted with the architectural features of church complexes.

The Armenian nation is commemorating today the 104^th anniversary of the 20^thcentury’s first horrendous crime against humanity – the Armenian Genocide.

On this occasion, representatives of administrative, professorial staff of YSU Ijevan Branch, students, members of various spheres of Tavush region, regional and municipal authorities and citizens walk to the memorial  dedicated to the Armenian Genocide victims and laid flowers in remembrance of the Armenian Genocide victims.

Then they visited Ijevan Historical-Cultural Museum and witnessed the exhibition on the Armenian Genocide.

Though April 24 is symbolically declared as a Day of Rremembrance on the national calendar, the actual pogroms, historically known as the Hamidian Massacres, date back to the late 19th century.

The Hamidian authorities – and later also their successors, the Young Turks – orchestrated the ethnic cleansing in Western Armenia, Cilicia and the Ottoman Empire, deporting and annihilating the Armenian population (as well as other ethnic minorities). They first targeted the males, aged between 15-45, whom they disarmed and killed to leave the rest of the population (the elderly, women and children) unprotected. What followed was a massive deportation, exile and pogroms. The Armenians were either forced to renounce Christianity or were marched into exile. Those who survived immigrated to the deserts in Mesopotamia, mainly to Deir ez-Zor, where they were eventually slain.

On April 24 1915, the Ottoman rulers organized the beheadings of the Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople. About 600 of them were arrested and put to sword on the way to exile. An estimated 1.5 million Armenians in 66 cities and towns and around 2,500 villages were killed. As many as 2,350 churches and monasteries were looted, about 1,500 schools and colleges – destroyed. The 1919-1920 Paris Peace Conference declared the estimated damages caused to the population in Western, and Eastern Armenia (amounting to 14,598,510,000 Francs and 4,532,472,000 Francs, respectively).

Since 1965, big crowds of people, including Armenians from Armenia and the Diaspora, and foreign guests, as well as governmnet delegations, head to the hilltop monument in Yerevan’s Tsitsernakaberd park to pay their tribute to the Genocide victims.

The six stone pillars of the memorial symbolize the 12 provinces which are now on the territory of modern Turkey.

The national cause for the Genocide recognition traces its roots back to the Soviet period, with Uruguay being the first world country to recognize the big crime in 1965. The Armenian Genocide has been so far recognized by 27 countries. Apart from states, also major international organizations and supranational unions, including the EU, the Council of Europe, European Movement International etc. have acknowledged the historical fact. The Genocide has received recognition also by many countries’ local governments (about 100 US states, provincial governments), and other bodies.