BRUSSELS–A meeting aimed to raise awareness of current challenges for Europe’s Armenia’s was held on September 23 in Brussels–just one day after a conference on Turkey was held in the European Parliament. Both events were organized by the European Armenian Federation.
Topics included the Euorpean Union’s (EU) New Neighborhood Policy toward Armenia–Turkey’s aspirations to join the EU–and the role and development of Europe’s Armenian diaspora.
Many ongoing issues were tackled by experts and political leaders–notably Turkey’s stepped-up policy of denial in Europe through local media (Time Magazine and Quid cases)–as well as the destruction of Armenian monasteries and monumen’s in Turkey and in occupied Northern Cyprus.
"We received only positive feedback from the participants," said European Armenian Federation chair Hilda Tchoboian. "We wanted to initiate a diaspora-wide dialogue. I think we succeeded. We brought together representatives of distant communities who will work together after this point," added Tchoboian.
Though most of the delegates were from major Armenian communities such as Belgium–Cyprus–France–Greece–and Italy–great attention was paid to those just developing in Slovakia–Czech Republic–and Hungary.
"This is the new stage in shaping a proactive and collaborative diaspora. This is our contribution to the building of Europe," stressed Tchoboian.