A word from IWAY`s President What We Have Been Up To

Fostering goodwill & friendship,
supporting philanthropic projects, and
furthering knowledge and
understanding of Armenia.
www.iwayerevan.org
[email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/groups/215770125202464/
July 2013 – no. 3
A word from IWAY’s President
Summer is here!
I hope you are all enjoying the
warm season wherever you
may be. Contrary to many
places around the world, here
in Armenia we are guaranteed
many days of warm and sunny
weather. Summer is a holiday season mostly for
school children and usually a time for us adults to
slow down and recuperate from the stressful winter
days.
Now, when it comes to our IWAY, well here is a
total different story. This summer seems to have
become a very active period for our Club. Looking
back at the last two months I have noticed how busy
we have been in taking part in so many varied
activities: book presentations, forums, social works,
festivals, celebrations, official anniversaries … just
to mention a few. You can read all the details of
these activities in this newsletter.
giver, the opinion seeker, the opinion giver, the
clarifier, the coordinator, the diagnostician, the
summarizer, the energizer, the procedure developer,
the evaluator; even the critic … then in order to
maintain the club we need the supporter, the
encourager, the harmonizer, the tension reliever, the
conciliator, the gatekeeper, the feeling expresser
and the follower … and I can go on and on. My
message to you all this month is to thank you all for
being who you are, and whatever group type you
may belong to, you all have something to offer to
our IWAY.
We have many different activities and events
planned, and I hope that I can count on each one of
you to be willing to participate. I am sure you all
have that “little something” to contribute to IWAY
and I am certain we can make the “big difference”.
I wish you all a great summer and look forward to
working with each one of you soon.
Schnorakalutyun!
Dr. Myrna Mugrditchian-Techler
As I look back and wonder what has made our Club
so successful, well there appears no doubt in my
mind that it is the TEAMWORK present amongst
us. Yes, the teamwork within the board, the
teamwork within the membership, and the
teamwork within us and the organizations we have
worked with. But it does not stop here, this is only
the beginning! I can feel the great potential existing
amongst our members.
As most of us know it takes all types of people to
make a functional group. We have the initiator, the
contributor, the information seeker, the information
Page 1
IWAY holds regular meetings at the Marriott Hotel
What We Have Been Up To
16 July 2013
Vahan Zanoyan's book A Place Far Away
On Friday, June 7th a special gathering of US and
Armenian dignitaries was invited to discuss Vahan
Zanoyan's book "A Place Far Away". Journalists, key
NGOs engaged in the fight against human trafficking
and the International Women's Association of Yerevan
were invited to U.S. Ambassador Heffern's official
residence in Armenia. The topic for discussion was;
"International sex trafficking and what can be done to
stop it".
Mr Zanoyan
was the guest
of honour and
introduced his
book and the
discussion.
Deputy Prime
Minister of the
Republic
of
Armenia (who also chairs a special governmental
commission against trafficking), Armen Gevorgyan and
US Ambassador, John Heffern congratulated the author
and discussed the importance of his book. The event was
attended by over 80 guests.
and touches upon a variety of social and cultural issues
rarely seen in today‟s literary and entertainment world.
“There is a powerful and well organized crime network
that targets the most vulnerable elements in society,”
commented Mr. Zanoyan. “Young and vulnerable girls
from broken homes, orphans and children from
extremely poor families and remote villages, are the
primary targets of sex traffickers.”
Article prepared by John Barker
Walking Tour with Armine Tumanyan
Mr Zanoyan's novel exposes the nature of sex trafficking
Page 2
16 July 2013
This time the walking tour begun at the Blue Mosque,
where our wonderful guide Armine Tumanyan gave us a
short history of the Mosque and the project "Smile
Yerevan". Then the group walked towards the studio of
the well known artist Armen Khojoyan. To our surprise,
the humble studio resembled nothing less than a
museum of art 'jewels'. We were surrounded by unique
pieces of different art forms: icons, paintings, drawings,
etc... each of which depicted a story of it's own kind.
Each piece made by the artist was carefully planned
months, sometimes years in advance. A unique
combination of materials was used to achieve the
breathtaking results. The artist also shared his poetry
books with us, delightedly signing them for us.
Article prepared by Lucine Yepremyan
Celebrating social activities
Then we continued our tour, listening to stories
about "Pak Shuka"-Covered Market. Then Armine
spoke about street names and the history behind
their founders-Mashtots, Paronyan. Next we have
visited the Museum of Wood Crafting (Covered
Marketof to the Museum of Wood Crafting). The
Museum had traditional Armenian as well as more
contemporary wooden crafts. For many of us it was
an eye opening excursion, an uncovering of some
secrets of craft making. The walking tours very
interesting and help us to investigate Armenia
through its Art, and to develop a closer knowledge
of Armenian national beauty.
Page 3
On June 20th, Libby and I hosted about two dozen
IWAY members and spouses at a reception in honor of
Yerevan artists and museum directors. IWAY members
thanked the artists and directors for their hospitality
during monthly Yerevan walking tours. These tours
exposed expatriates and local Armenians alike to out of
the way neighborhoods and opened the doors of artists'
studios and unique museums. In their studios, the artists
in very personal terms described their techniques and
themes.
This
allowed
the
members to see and
really understand the
evolution of the artists‟
work. IWAY member,
Armine
Tumanyan
organized and led these
tours to the delight of
one and all. I thanked
Armine, the artists and
the directors and Libby
16 July 2013
presented flowers of appreciation to Armine.
I was also able to show our own Art and Embassy
collection displayed in our residence. Luckily it was a
beautiful night, so the guests were able to wander both
indoors and in the courtyard.
The walking tours
are just one of the
many
IWAY
activities that keep
local, Diaspora and
expat
women
coming back to
IWAY for more.
(Ukraine
ambassador's wife)to speak she passed out a song
Article prepared
by USA
Ambassador
John Heffern
Coffee morning at the US Ambassador's
residence
On Wednesday, June 19, more than fifty women
met for a coffee morning at the US Ambassador's
residence. The coffee morning was designed to
introduce IWAY to the diplomatic community.
We were very pleased that Natalia Nalbandian, wife
of the Foreign Minister, joined us.
We all introduced
ourselves
mentioning where we
were from, where we
had lived and what
languages we spoke.
When it was time for
Olena
Kukhta
Page 4
sheet and spontaneously broke out in song, leading
us in Edelweiss. Later in the morning Margarit and
Anni also sang for us.
Pam Karg, our past president coming from the bush
in Africa surprised many of our members. She
spoke to us explaining the purpose of IWAY using
the letters I..W..A..Y...to make her points.
The diplomatic wives were very interested to learn
about the variety of activities offered by IWAY.
Walking tours, cooking classes, Russian and
Armenian language classes, handicrafts, bible
study, and play group are just a few of those
activities. Presently our IWAY members come
from 18 different countries and speak 25 different
languages.
Despite the ongoing drizzle that eventually forced
us to leave the patio and crowd inside I think we all
enjoyed meeting new
women and we did
our best to recruit new
members!
Thanks to all the
IWAY ladies who
helped me with this
event!
Article prepared by Libby Heffern
spouse of USA Ambassador to Armenia
16 July 2013
Dolma Festival - Sardarapat Memorial
The Dolma Festival in Sardarapat Memorial was another
activity where IWAY participated.
About 15 of our members prepared Dolma – (stuffed
vegetables with or without meat) and participated in the
competition for the best Dolma along with 24 other
groups.
With entertainment including singing and dancing, the
Festival was a great opportunity for IWAY members to
meet other people and to understand more about
Armenian hospitality.
We managed to sell almost everything we prepared! Our
participation was a success not only for making money
for our charity programmes but also a wonderful
opportunity to present our Association and to raise
awareness about our activities in Armenia.
The presentation by IWAY members included Dolmas
from different countries including Armenia, Romania,
Syria, Lebanon, etc.
The American Ambassador John Heffern and his wife
Libby tasted our Dolma and they were overwhelmed by
the variety on our table.
IWAY plate for competition
Page 5
16 July 2013
Great news to report!
First, an exciting award! The IWAY entry in the Dolma
Festival at Sardarapat won the prize for taste! We
received a certificate and a gold medal! Many, many
thanks to all the ladies who helped. It couldn't have been
done without the whole IWAY team, including:
 Armine Tumanyan, who organized our
invitation to the festival, and created the
beautiful and professional new IWAY banner;
 Annie Pannossian, Armine Tumanyan, Miriam
Clemenz, Ella Barker, Ashkhen SamuelianVarteressian, Asdghik Panossian, and Maral
Obadashian-Minassian, for cooking at least 10
kinds of dolma;
 Myrna Mugrditchian-Techler and Eleonora
Tebrean for contributing compote and Alice
Hristea for making polenta;
 Myrna Mugriditchin-Techler for donating the
lavash, water, and plates and Miriam and Myrna
for bringing coolers to store the dolma
 Zara Nahapetyan, Pamela Karg, Lousnag
Samuelian, Mary Nazarian, plus all the others
already mentioned and many family members,
for attending and helping sell the Dolma, and
finally
 Ambassador and Ms. Heffern for attending and
providing moral support..
In addition to winning the prize for best tasting dolma
and providing wonderful publicity for IWAY, we earned
37,000 dram and we had fun!
. A TV report (in English, Armenian, and Russian) is
available here: http://civilnet.am/2013/07/11/its-adolma-thing/.
Thanks to Eleonora Tebrean there are many pictures on
the IWAY Facebook page for you to see, and more to
come on the web page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/215770125202464/
Article prepared by Alice Hristea
spouse of EU Ambassador to Armenia
Page 6
16 July 2013
Out and About
Jermuk weekend
Last weekend we wanted to go for a visit in
Armenia. As our neighbours are originally from
Vayk, a village close to Jermuk region, we decided
to go to visit them at their country house! We left
Yerevan on Saturday morning and in 2 hours we
were in Vayk! Once we arrived we were shown
around by our neighbours. It is always better to go
to visit a place when you know a local person who
can tell you everything about the place!
We had our lunch at the HUNTING restaurant
situated on the river Arpa. The surroundings and the
food were wonderful. After lunch, we continued our
trip for about another 40 min and then arrived in
Jermuk city.
Jermuk is a spa town in the southern Armenian
province of Vayots Dzor, 53 km east of
Yeghegnadzor, the capital of Vayots Dzor. It was a
popular destination during the Soviet era and
nowadays is still famous for its hot springs and its
brand of mineral water that is bottled in the city.
The town is considered to be attractive for its huge
waterfall, the natural bridge, the lake, its forests
with its walking trails and mineral water pools.
Jermuk is currently being redeveloped to become a
modern centre of tourism and health services. The
town is also being set up to become a sort of Chess
centre, with numerous chess tournaments hosted or
scheduled to be hosted. Finally, Jermuk is wellknown among the Armenian people for its
distinctively fresh air.
The town is located at a height of 2080 meters
above sea level, within the mountains of Vayots
Page 7
Dzor, among thick forests, on a plateau divided into
two parts by the gorge of Arpa River, 170 km
south-east of Yerevan. Surrounding mountains of
Vayots Dzor, Vardenis and Syunik are all covered
with forests and alpine meadows at a height of
2500–3000 meters.
The forests of Jermuk are rich with oak and
hornbeam trees, as well as with dog rose, wild pear,
plum and juniper plants. Animals like foxes,
rabbits, badgers and bears can be found there.
Jermuk is full of natural hot springs (Geysers). The
name itself is derived from this fact, as the word
"jermuk" means "geyser" in the Armenian
language. The waterfall of Jermuk on Arpa river has
a height of 70 meters.
The average temperature of Jermuk is +15.3C
during summer and -9C in winter with a level of
800 mm (31.50 in) of annual precipitation.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=jermuk+armeni
a&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=a6_j
UbqeI4_Vsga1ooDgDw&ved=0CDgQsAQ&biw=1
600&bih=785
We stayed at Olympia resort, located in the centre
of Jermuk city, near the picturesque park and a
gallery of drinking hot mineral waters. The hotel,
which is also a sanatorium, interior is executed in
classical style: marble floors, oak parquet floors,
carved columns, crystal chandellers and beautiful
rugs created a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
The bar, restaurant, sauna, table tennis, conference
hall, children's playground, SPA-salon, beauty
salon, as well as the offers of medical procedures
are great. Guests can have a medical examination
and, if necessary, get the appropriate treatment.
http://www.jermukolympia.am/
Article prepared by Ella Barker
16 July 2013
IWAY at the Solutions Forum on Tourism
July 1, 2013
Fuller Center 5th anniversary
Fuller Center for Housing Armenia celebrated its
5th anniversary on June 28th, at the Marriott
Armenia hotel. Many IWA Yerevan members
participated to show their support and appreciation
for their work.
IWAY members attented and participated in the Forum
on Tourism in Armenia organized by Solutions in their
series of „New Opportunities Forum‟. This took place in
the Golden Palace Hotel on July 1, 2013.
A wide range of topics was addressed, from general
tourism through the situation at Zvartnots International
airport to more specific topics such as Medical & Dental
tourism in the country.
Several important speakers were present, Mr. Mekhak
Apresyan (Head of the Department of tourism in the
Ministry of Ecomomics), his Excellency Dr. Suresh
Babu (Indian Ambassador), Kieran Cooke (British
journalist) to only name a few, but most importantly one
of our members and past-President of the IWAY, Pam
Karg, gave a wonderful closing speech on the
importance of the input of communication in this field.
She went straight to the point by sharing her many years
living-in-Armenia experience with a very subtle sense of
humor.
Congratulations Pam! We are very proud of you!
We wish you to add a 0 to your number of years
celebrations!
IWA Yerevan
Article prepared by Myrna Mugrditchian-Techler
Page 8
16 July 2013
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094 882 806
[email protected]
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Mrs. Samuelian speaks Armenian, Arabic and English.
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If you have any items you want posted, please write to
Ella Barker at [email protected]
Page 9
16 July 2013
IWAY’s Current Board of Directors
! IMPORTANT !
Over the summer the classes of gymnastics, walking
tours, cooking classes, Russian and bible studies will
stop due to the fact that many of our members will be on
summer holidays.
We will inform you by email regarding all the
activities still continuing over the summer.
For more events and news check:
Web page:
http://www.iwayerevan.org/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/215770125202464/
Armine, Myrna, Miriam, Margaret, Ella, Annie, Jelena, Zara
President -Myrna Mugrditchian-Techler
[email protected]
Upcoming events
Vice President - Annie Panossian
[email protected]
Gevorg Harutyunyan and Nune Tumanya invitation
You are cordially invited to the personal exhibition of
Gevorg Harutyunyan and Nune Tumanyan. The
opening will take place on July 23, 2013 at 18:00 at
Artists’ Union of Armenia, 2nd floor (16 Abovyan
Street) New works will be presented.
Secretary - Margaret Barkley Byess
[email protected]
Social Director - Armine Tumanyan
[email protected]
The exhibition will be open:
23 July – 2 August, 11:00-21:00
Director at Large - Jelena McCoy
[email protected]
Communications Director - Ella Barker
[email protected]
Membership Director - Achkhen SamuelianVarteressian
[email protected]
Treasurer - Miriam Clemenz
[email protected]
Assistant Treasurer - Zara Nahapetyan
[email protected]
Page 10
16 July 2013