ANTELIAS (Armenpress)-Under the auspices of His Holiness Aram I–Armenian Catholicos of Cilicia–the Catholicosate organized a ceremony to acknowledge the great contributions of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and its Director of Armenian Affairs–Dr. Zaven Yegavian–to the educational and cultural life of the Armenian people.
The official ceremony took place in Antelias–the headquarters of the Catholicosate of Cilicia–where more than 200 people attended the ceremony in the main hall of the Catholicosate. Among the guests were clergy–Lebanese parliamentarians–community leaders–representatives of political and cultural organizations and the directors and teachers of Armenian schools in Lebanon. In his opening remarks–Rev. Norair Ashekian praised the devoted service of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation–and he acknowledged the contribution of the Director and the Vice Director of its Armenian Affairs Department–Dr. Zaven Yegavian and Astrid Chankerten.
In their speeches–two of the directors of Armenian schools–Jirair Tanielian and Keghani Etemezian–thanked the Foundation for being a strong pillar of support for Armenian schools in the Diaspora. Tanielian mentioned that the Foundation serves Armenian communities in 70 different countries–including Armenia. He added that in order to spread the Armenian culture and heritage–the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has constructed numerous buildings–centers and schools.
Etemezian praised the benevolent spirit that the Gulbenkian family has always shown and emphasized the role of its director–Dr. Zaven Yegavian–who during his 20 years of service has fully devoted himself to the prosperity and success of Armenian schools around the world and nurturing the Armenian Culture. She named the many publications–institutions of higher learning–programs–schools and cultural centers that the Foundation has supported as living evidence of that devoted service.