DILIJAN—Just Dilijan It! summer education programs announced on Monday the arrival of the first participants of the summer program which will be held in June and July on the UWC Dilijan international school campus in Dilijan, Armenia. This year’s participants are from Armenia, Belgium, Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Kazakhstan, Russia and the United States. The Just Dilijan It! summer programs are organized by Scholae Mundi Armenia, whose founders also established the UWC Dilijan international school.
Just Dilijan It! are innovative educational programs for children and adolescents between the ages of 10-17 and based on pioneering techniques of open dialogue between teachers and participants, and full engagement in the creative process,” said Just Dilijan It! Program Director, Oleg Dremov.
“Within our experimental multidisciplinary programs, we bring back the lost culture of the metaphorical ‘space’ where children from different social and political backgrounds are encouraged to express and share their interests freely,” explains the program’s Project Manager, Andrey Khodzhikyan.
The innovative Just Dilijan It! workshops and programs include:
- “Sherlock Holmes and the Guardians of the Planet,” directed by Alina Kolovska, ecologist, chemist, biologist and head of the Center for Resource Conservation in Moscow who will teach the children to explore the ecosystem and find out what makes it work. Children will also create animated cartoons about ecology, develop environmental quests around Dilijan for tourists, and study the flora and fauna of the region.
- “The Ancient Greek Theatre” directed by historian and cultural commentator, co-founder of the ArtWeekend children’s education project Galina Yuzefovich, art and design teacher Natalia Shevchenko, and founder and Director of Yerevan’s “Small” theatre Vahan Badalyan, will give the children the opportunity to create a production based on all the traditions of the ancient theatre. The final production will be performed on a public stage for the participants as well as the greater Dilijan residents.
- “The City and its Citizens” directed by Petr Mazaev head of the Moscow Laboratory of Cultural Projects and author Linor Goralik, will encourage the children to explore Dilijan and create projects for the development of the city, which at the end of the camp will be judged by the local residents of Dilijan.
Khodzhikyan hopes that by the conclusion of the camp, the children can also offer creative ideas to enhance the Dilijan Development Fund which recently launched a project to modernize the Aghstev River embankment as another Dilijan attraction. The development program hopes to create a public space on the banks of the picturesque river where residents and visitors can take strolls, enjoy bike rides and recreational sports and where local artisans can offer street art.
Additional workshops include:
- “Sports Academy” which will culminate in a number of sporting contests including competitions in: football (soccer), swimming, circus arts, sports dancing, Frisbee and chess. Chess classes will be directed by Sophia Repina, a leading coach from the Moscow School of Olympic Reserve, who has trained more than 10 world champions in different age groups.
- “I Design the World” workshop, jointly organized with the TUMO Center for Technology and Design is devoted to graphic design and animation and to provide the children with advanced knowledge and skills in digital technologies and the arts under the guidance of leading professionals. The program includes master classes with Alexey Kotenochkin, an animator best known for the famous Russian cartoon “Nu Pogodi!” (“Just You Wait!”).
- All the teens aged 14-17 who will choose the UWC Summer Academy program will receive training in leadership and project management in social entrepreneurship. The program is organized in cooperation with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization and supported by the Initiative for the Development of Armenia (IDeA) foundation within its Program of Development of the Regions of Armenia, which provides 10 grants to talented students from the Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Vayots Dzor, Gegharkunik, Kotayk, Lori, Syunik, Tavush and Shirak regions of Armenia, as well as from the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, to take part in the program.
Special master classes will be provided by Ilya Kolmanovsky, a biologist, journalist, science evangelist and head of the biology lab at the Polytechnic Museum in Moscow.
In addition to the workshops, JUST DILIJAN it! participants will also enjoy educational trips and excursions to various historic sites in Armenia.
Summer educational programs in Dilijan began in 2013. Now in their third year, the project has been renamed to Just Dilijan It! offering new and more expanded offerings. Workshops will be taught in English and Russian languages.
For more information and registration details visit justdilijanit.com or contact JustDilijanIt! via email camp@justdilijanit.org or by phone +7 (495) 909-96-92.
