AYF Camp, located in the Angeles National Forest, hosted yet another successful summer camp season. This year, there were seven one-week sessions beginning on July 5, 2009 and continued through August 23, 2009. An astounding total of 750 campers and 150 counselors participated in this year’s camp program throughout the summer. The program consists of educationals focusing on Armenian history and Armenian issues relevant to today, along with a wide-range of activities including canoeing, arts and crafts, archery, rock climbing, singing, and competitive games.

On November 7, Dr. Vartan Gregorian, President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, will be honored as “Professional of the Year” by the Armenian Professional Society, at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City, California.

Professor Vahakn Dadrian, the director of Genocide research at the Zoryan Institute, discusses three elements in the new Turkish initiative that call for immediate Attention.

On October 21, while introducing the Armenia-Turkey Protocols to the Turkish Parliament for ratification, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu exposed his government’s true intentions. Davutoglu stated that Armenia’s acceptance of the agreement, calling for the study of historical archives, indicated that Armenians no longer insisted on their unilateral interpretation of history.

Normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations is a natural and necessary goal but the road to that good goal President Serzh Sarkisian has embarked on, with the signing of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols on October 10, will undermine Armenia’s long-term national interests, impede efforts to move Turkey closer to recognizing its responsibility, and violate the Diaspora’s fundamental right to participate in the formulation of policies involving the legacy of the Armenian Genocide. A careful reading of the Protocols makes it clear that Armenia is being pressured to sacrifice too much, by paying a terribly high price for an open border—and this at a time when Turkey, America, Europe, and Russia need the border opened as much, if not more, than Armenia does.

Members of the Armenian National Committee – Political Action Committee (ANC-PAC) met with Congressman Thaddeus McCotter in Los Angeles, California to discuss foreign policy issues important to the Armenian American community.

The 12th Annual Arpa International Film Festival came to a close on Sunday, October 25 after 3 days of films, receptions, and a star-studded closing night awards ceremony at the renowned Egyptian Theatre.

You feel a wave of air rush from the underground tube in front of you. The subway train is fast approaching Bagramian Station, your local friends are talking non-stop about Eurovision, and the invisible pressure of cold air – what you feel before you hear the hum of the tracks – embraces and chills you. This is your Saroyan moment.

“You look nice. What’s up?” I asked Mary. It’s a beautiful Saturday afternoon and Mary is sitting at a table with her colleagues, Manouk and Ani. Whereas they are dressed casually, Mary has arrived dressed for an evening out.

The Armenian high tech industry Congress (ArmTech) will hold its 2009 conference showcasing high tech industry capabilities of the Republic of Armenia from November 5 through 8 in Silicon Valley, California.

ARBIL, Kurdistan (Combined Sources)— Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stressed the importance of ties with Iraq, which he termed Ankara’s gateway to the Gulf, on a historic visit to Iraqi Kurdistan on Friday where he boldly signaled Turkey’s intentions to “rebuild the Middle East.”
“It is time for Arabs, Turks, Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis to rebuild [...]