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AYF-YOARF Hosts Annual Senior Seminar at Camp Haiastan

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  • AYF-YOARF Hosts Annual Senior Seminar at Camp Haiastan

    Armenian Youth Federation-YOARF Eastern US
    80 Bigelow Ave
    Watertown, MA 02472
    Tel. (617) 923-1933
    Fax (617) 924-1933
    www.ayf.org

    PRESS RELEASE ~ October 25, 2006

    (617) 923-1933
    AYF-YOARF Hosts Annual Senior Seminar at Camp Haiastan

    WATERTOWN, Mass. - From October 6 to 8, Armenian Youth Federation (AYF)
    members from across the Eastern Region gathered at Camp Haiastan in Franklin,
    Mass., for an annual seminar, this year focused on knowledge and activism.

    Over 40 AYF senior members from Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New Jersey, New
    York, Boston, Albany, Chicago and Providence attended five lectures and
    various night activities organized by the AYF Seminar Committee.

    "Senior Seminar is one of many events we have on the AYF calendar and
    actually one of the best ones," said AYF Seminar Committee chairperson Nora
    Keomurjian, "It provides our membership the unique opportunity to really get
    to know one another, which they otherwise do not have at the larger events."

    The first lecture on Saturday, "The AYFer: Birth of Activism," was given by
    Dr. Ara Chalian from Philadelphia. Attendees spent the full session
    discussing the role of AYF leadership in the Armenian community and what
    exactly that should be. In a discussion format the group considered issues
    of what leadership is and talked about successful examples.

    Following Chalian was Dr. Asbed Kochikian who presented "Modern Armenia:
    Challenges from Within and Without." The lecture focused on the political
    scene in Armenia, with a lively discussion about the problems, their source
    and the future direction of politics as they affect the people in Armenia.

    The afternoon session featured a lecture titled "The Lebanese Israeli
    Conflict and its Effect on the Armenian Community: What Does the Future
    Bring?" Given by Jirayr Beujekian, the talk covered historical and
    contemporary issues in the Lebanese Armenian community and its future
    directions.

    The final session of the day was given by Kochikian who outlined
    "Nagorno-Karabakh Yesturday and Today." During the lecture Kochikian gave a
    detailed historical account of the conflict in its political dimension.
    After the lecture, all attendees were divided into groups for a game based
    on the Karabagh war.

    "The topics were intriguing, which made for interesting conversations," said
    AYF Central Executive member Lauren Da Silva, "The lecturers discussed
    current affairs, which opened the mind of the attendees."

    During the evening, the group went out to Pinz, a bowling ally/arcade, to
    spend some time relaxing after a long day of discussion and capture the
    flag. Following the outing, members returned to camp where they sang
    Armenian patriotic songs by the bonfire.

    The following morning, the final lecture was given by the AYF Central Hai
    Tahd Council, with Washington AYF member Vahan Callan. The group discussed
    Hai Tahd activism by students on university campuses. In his portion, Callan
    outlined his experience in Michigan starting a campus Armenian club. The
    group also outlined other methods of becoming active: supporting fellow
    student groups with similar goals, and attending and organizing lectures.

    "This year's senior seminar was a great way to bring together the leaders of
    the AYF community," said New Jersey AYF member and seminar attendee Serge
    Kechichian, "The discussions and lecturers were very informative and
    worthwhile."


    PHOTO CAPTIONS

    Seminar 1: Over 40 AYF senior members attended lectures and various night
    activities organized by the AYF Seminar Committee

    Seminar 3: Dr. Asbed Kochikian (center) presented a lecture on modern
    Armenian politics, bring to light the problems, their source and the future
    direction of politics in the Republic
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