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ACNIS Marks Tenth Anniversary

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  • ACNIS Marks Tenth Anniversary

    --Boundary_(ID_Y/RVwc+1BcSe9PEJgqn2GQ)
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    From: ACNIS Info <[email protected]>
    Subject: ACNIS Marks Tenth Anniversary
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    PRESS RELEASE
    Armenian Center for National and International Studies
    75 Yerznkian Street
    Yerevan 375033, Armenia
    Tel: (+374 - 1) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
    Fax: (+374 - 1) 52.48.46
    E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
    Website: www.acnis.am

    October 5, 2004


    ACNIS MARKS TENTH ANNIVERSARY

    Raffi Hovannisian and Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja Keynote Gala

    Yerevan--The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS),
    an institutional pioneer of independent policy research and analysis in the
    post-Soviet space, celebrated its tenth birthday today with an official
    banquet at the Armenia Marriott Hotel.

    The gala event brought together public figures, ambassadors, heads of
    diplomatic missions and international organizations, scholars and
    intellectuals, businessmen, media and NGO representatives, the Center's
    former and current employees, and contributors, associates, friends and
    supporters from Armenia and the Diaspora.

    A complete exhibit of the Center's publications from 1994 to 2004, including
    occasional papers, monographs, yearbooks and special publications, was on
    display in the foyer of the "Tigran the Great" ballroom, where the
    festivities took place. The participants were presented with complimentary
    copies of the Center's newly-released jubilee volume entitled "Accounting
    for the Decade," encompassing a survey of its first decade of public service
    and featuring Center activities, analytical articles, congratulatory
    messages, public opinion polls, and an interview with founder Raffi K.
    Hovannisian.

    Raffi Hovannisian, the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of the new Republic
    of Armenia, welcomed the invited guests. Recalling that the fifth
    anniversary of the Center, scheduled for October 29, 1999, did not take
    place because of the national tragedy in parliament, Hovannisian invited a
    moment of silence to remember the victims of October 27, the national heroes
    and unknown soldiers who fell on Armenia's road to freedom and independence,
    as well as departed Center employees Tigran Hairapetian, Bagrat Sadoyan,
    Valeri Aidinian, and Ashot Khalatian.

    After the invocation and blessing of the table by Bishop Navasard Kjoyan,
    Prelate of the Araratian Diocese, Raffi Hovannisian remarked: "The Armenian
    Center for National and International Studies and its first ten years have
    been committed to the cause of institution-building and, often against the
    odds, to the forging of an infrastructure for a new political culture in
    which the free competition of ideas reigns within a national framework, and
    where rational and national policy options are sought in the domestic and
    international arenas through the creation of a comprehensive policymaking
    system for the Republic of Armenia and the nation entire."

    At the end of his opening presentation, Hovannisian expressed words of
    gratitude to the Center's supporters in Armenia and around the world, its
    past and present employees, its colleagues and critics, and all those owing
    to whom the Center at ten is sound, solid, self-confident and at once
    self-renewing. On behalf of all ACNIS stakeholders, Noune Aidinian, a
    long-time Center executive, was noted for her decade of professional
    dedication.

    Armenian duduk melodies, performed by distinguished artist Gevorg Dabaghian,
    complemented the supper service with nourishment for the soul.

    Raffi Hovannisian then introduced His Excellency Erkki Tuomioja, Minister
    for Foreign Affairs of Finland, who delivered the keynote address on
    "Security in the Globalizing World." In his vision, modern nations can
    profit from globalization through mutual integration and simultaneous
    maintenance of national identity, whereas isolated countries or marginal
    groups might themselves come to constitute the cause for security dilemmas.

    "In a globalizing world, we all are more and more dependent on each other,
    which leads to closer cooperation between states than ever before," the
    Minister asserted. "The European Union is developing and responding to new
    challenges and how we in Finland see security in today's world. The newly
    independent states in the Western Balkans and in the former Soviet Union
    have unfortunately not developed without difficulties. We have witnessed
    many armed conflicts and even war both inside and between countries, with
    great losses and human suffering. Both old and new threats have escalated,
    especially terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
    but also issues such as ethnic intolerance, environmental threats,
    pandemics, drugs, cross-border organized crime and uncontrolled migration.
    According to the Security Strategy, the EU needs to be more active in
    pursuing its strategic objectives. It also needs to be more capable, more
    coherent and work in close cooperation with partners. These principles apply
    to the full spectrum of instruments for crisis management and conflict
    prevention at the EU's disposal, including political, diplomatic, military
    and civilian, trade and development activities. The Union is not and will
    not become a military great power, but it can become an effective actor in
    conflict prevention and crisis management."

    In a musical interlude, the guests then enjoyed Shoghakn folk ensemble
    soloist Hasmik Harutiunian's vocal offering of "Lullabye Medley," "Love
    Ballad of Van," and "Homeland."

    The evening concluded with a moving public rendition of the Armenian
    National Anthem, and evening enjoyment provided by folk-jazz pianist Vahagn
    Hairapetian and his friends.

    Founded in 1994 by Armenia's first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
    Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS serves
    as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy challenges
    facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet world. It also
    aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic thinking and a wider
    understanding of the new global environment. In 2004, the Center focuses
    primarily on public outreach, civic education, and applied research on
    critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the state and the nation.

    For further information on the celebration and a related photo display, call
    (3741) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax (3741) 52-48-46; e-mail [email protected] or
    [email protected]; or visit www.acnis.am


    --Boundary_(ID_Y/RVwc+1BcSe9PEJgqn2GQ)--

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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