WRIGHTWOOD, CA–Several dozen youth gathered at AYF Camp this past weekend for the Armenian Youth Federation’s annual Educational Seminar, where the issues of assimilation and repatriation were explored through lectures, discussions, debates, and other group activities.

The seminar kicked off Friday night with Director Elizabeth Chouljian, ANCA’s Communications Director and an AYF alumna herself, presenting the opening remarks and asking the campers to introduce themselves individually. Chouldjian created a welcoming environment, insisting that everyone call her Ungerouhi Yeghso.

The educational portion of the weekend started on Saturday morning. The first guest lecturer, Ara Mgrdichian, challenged participants to see themselves and their community from an “out-of-the-box” perspective by questioning conscious and subconscious notions of identity. The second guest lecturer, Dr. Hagop Kouloujian, spoke about the phenomenon of assimilation through the prism of language. Chouldjian presented her own lecture on the ANCA and its role in preserving Armenian identity and community. The campers then participated in a group discussion led by Ungerouhi Yeghso to explore the theoretical and practical motivations and challenges surrounding the issue of repatriation to Armenia.

“Having a solid educational foundation within the membership is essential for any community organization, and even more so for AYF,” said organizer Aris Hovasapian. “We want to be able to train the future leaders of our community, and exposing our members to new ideas or challenging them with new concepts is certainly a step in the right direction.”

The AYF’s Educational Council, which organized the event, was optimistic about achieving the goals of introducing ideas that are new to the participants, and presenting concepts they can apply in daily life. “The type of education that we stress has limitless applications, but the greatest act would be for someone to take what they learned over the weekend and use it as a catalyst to do something greater that could eventually benefit the community at large.” said Hovasapian.

Mgrdichian, an AYF alumnus and a violence prevention counselor at Hoover High School, presented “Assimilation and the Youth Living in the Diaspora,” which exposed the campers to an alternative vantage point on the problems Armenian youth face today. He challenged participants to define Armenian identity and what encompasses being Armenian. With identity crisis in the modern Diaspora being a very crucial and controversial topic, the discussion quickly turned into a debate. Mgrdichian concluded that Armenian youth need not label themselves and put boundaries on what precisely defines being Armenian. The focus, he stressed, should be on bringing Armenians together to propel the Armenian Cause forward.

Dr. Kouloujian, a professor of Armenian language at UCLA, presented “Assimilation and the Importance of the Armenian Language,” which showed an historical evolution of the Armenian language, from its inception and eras of expansion to its current phase of atrophy and endangerment. Dr. Kouloujian prepared his lecture specially for this event, and the participants were very appreciative that he spent the time to gather so much research and create a PowerPoint presentation.

Organizer Berj Parseghian welcomed Dr. Kouloujian’s unconventional approach: “A fresh new perspective was offered by Professor Kouloujian. He explained that if a language does not evolve and remains stagnant, that language will eventually disappear,” he recalled. “We need innovation, new words, new poets, new writers, a 21st century Armenian language… Let’s create a critical mass around this concept… A 21st century Armenian.”

“Every educational was amazing,” said participant and AYF-WR Central Executive chairperson Arek Santikian. “Ungerouhi Yeghso broke down her points very well in relation to Hye Tad and the AYF’s role in it. Additionally, the lecture regarding the Armenian language was a true wake up call to me. I realized that it is extremely important to pick up a book or two, every month or so, and simply read it. It is up to us to not only cherish our culture and history, but to maintain it, preserve it and evolve with it.”

Chouldjian shared Santikian’s sentiments and had similar words of praise for the participants. “These young people had such depth in all of the information and all of the discussions that they had,” said Chouldjian about the interaction she witnessed throughout the weekend. “During the actual lectures themselves, the participation was great, but even in the off sections when kids were trying to take a break, the whole discussion was how do we make Armenia better, how do we make our nation better, and how do we work better here in the Diaspora. It was just absolutely inspiring to see that.”

The organizers said they were very pleased with the amount of participation by attendees, and impressed by all the new faces. “It is always great to see new members excited and actively participating in discussion because their input is greatly valued. Many people had a few different chances to speak and express their thoughts on all the different topics discussed” said organizer Aline Karakozian.

The educational portion of the seminar was followed by an oath ceremony Saturday evening where 10 AYF novices were officially welcomed into the AYF. “The room was filled with mostly our younger membership, which made me extremely happy.” Said Santikian “A number of novices also came up to participate and eventually take their oath. The energy was at a high level throughout the entire weekend, and it showed during the discussion portion of the seminar. I was very impressed with the viewpoints of many of our members.”

When asked to gauge the success of the event, Karakozian said, “We definitely had a successful weekend with plenty of positive feedback.” The seminar, she continued, was fun and educational and gave participants a unique “opportunity to discuss issues that have become very important to our people.”

Karakozian was happy that participants “were able to share our ideas on what we should be doing as Armenians and as AYF members to help prevent assimilation and how to begin a movement of repatriation to our homeland.”

Parseghian summed up the general feeling of the seminar’s participants: “Our measure of success comes from the weekend being a catalyst for youth to think, innovate, and struggle… it was awesome.”

Click here to see a complete set of the weekend’s photos at our Photo Gallery Section

A year and a half after first proposing to privatize the Glendale Health Center, LA County Supervisor Michael Antonovich announced this week that the move is no longer being considered.

The announcement was hailed by staff and patients at the Center, as well as the Armenian Youth Federation which has actively engaged in the campaign to keep the clinic from being turned over to private hands.

“Rejecting the proposal to privatize the Glendale Health Center is the right decision and a major victory for our community,” said AYF Executive Director Serouj Aprahamian. “At a time when people need health care more than ever, we should not be toying with measures that risk severing such vital services to those who need it most.”

The Glendale Health Center is one of LA County’s most successful primary care clinics, with over 3,500 patients and 11,000 patient visits each year, the majority of whom are uninsured and medically-underserved Armenian elderly. A proposal to privatize the center was introduced in 2008 by the LA County Board of Supervisors, threatening to drive up costs and leave many of these patients without the adequate, affordable care they rely upon.

In response to the proposal, the union representing employees at the clinic, SEIU Local 721, launched a campaign against privatization. The AYF soon joined in the effort, along with other community organizations, patients and elected officials. Several forums, delegations to the offices of Supervisor Antonovich, letter writing campaigns, rallies and other actions were organized to prevent the plan from being pushed through behind the back of the community. 

“It just shows that if we’re aware of what’s happening around us then we can prevent things from happening like the privatization of the Glendale Health Center,” said Maria Levando, a twenty-year patient at the clinic.

A few weeks prior to the announcement that privatization was being taken off of the table, CCHC, one of the private agencies vying for the clinic, suddenly dropped out of the bid. It is believed that the CCHC’s unexpected decision to drop out of the process may have affected the County’s decision to reconsider its proposal.

“We are committed to staying vigilant on any matter which affects the well-being of our community,” said AYF Central Executive member Kevork Babayan. “Working on this campaign proved, once again, that the youth have the power and responsibility to defend the interests of our people no matter where they may be.”

With chapters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) has grown to become the largest and most influential Armenian American youth organization. Inspired by the past and motivated by the needs of the future, the AYF actively strives to advance the social, political, educational and cultural awareness of all Armenian youth.

LOS ANGELES, CA – Over 700 people crowded into the El Rey Theatre on Saturday April 24 for a social justice concert featuring community artists Viza, Element, R-Mean and the Dirty Diamond. The concert, which capped off a day of emotional commemorative events throughout Southern California, will benefit the Armenian Relief Society’s “Armenia-Artsakh Orphan Project” and the Bird’s Nest Orphanage in Lebanon.

The annual “Silence the Lies! Rock the Truth!” concert, now in its second year, is dedicated to exposing the denial of the Armenian Genocide and raising awareness of this crime against humanity.  This year the event was co-hosted by the AYF-WR and ANCA-WR, along with Serjical Strike Records, Knoup Presents, Alpha Gamma Alpha Sorority and the AGBU.

“April 24, 95 years ago is not just a day for us to commemorate the Armenian Genocide,” said Arek Santikian, Chairman of the AYF-WR, who took to the stage to address the crowd. “It is a day for us to stand up, silence the lies, rock the truth, because 95 years later, we as Armenians are still here, and we will continue to be here day in and day out, year after year.”

The concert took place hours after more than 10,000 Armenian-Americans poured out onto the streets as part of an AYF-organized protest that forced the closure of Wlishire Blvd at McCarthy Vista. Many participants from the protest headed directly down Wilshire following the demonstration to stand in line for the concert.

Emotion filled the El Rey the entire night, as the sell-out crowd relentlessly cheered for the artists and various speakers. Andrew Kzirian, a member of headlining band Viza and long-time activist, explained the importance of commemorating culture and activism. “Events such as this speak out to the youth and to the public very clearly, especially when the messaging is so significant to the Armenian people,” said Kzirian.

Kzirian said the mission of the concert is to bring socially conscious people together to celebrate culture, life, activism and justice. Last year, organizers donated proceeds to the Orran Charity, which works to prevent the spread of destitution and begging among Armenia’s children and elderly.

With chapters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) has grown to become the largest and most influential Armenian American youth organization. Inspired by the past and motivated by the needs of the future, the AYF actively strives to advance the social, political, educational and cultural awareness of all Armenian youth.