To keep what is national and to disseminate patriotic ideas, the Philological Faculty of the Armenian State Pedagogical University frequently holds meetings with the Armenian
intellectual representatives of various civilizations. Due to these meetings the students’ scope of mind greatly expands urging them to ponder over the new professional opportunities.
On this occasion, within the framework of meetings arranged with the Armenian Diaspora intellectuals, the students of the Philological Faculty hosted the American-Armenian philologist, publisher, leader of the Armenian Diaspora literature Hovsep Nalbandyan. The latter is in close cooperation with the Pedagogical University and the “Spyurq” Scientific Research Center.
During the meeting, he discussed with the students in western Armenian the educational problems in the Diaspora. Initially, Hovsep Nalbandyan thoroughly introduced the national protective meaning and the lack of Armenian schools in various Armenian regions of Diaspora. Then he spoke about the number of Armenian schools in a number of Armenian colonies, underlined the importance of their reopening and regretfully mentioned the fact of the missing funds required.
Hovsep Nalbandyan grants greater significance to the availability of Armenian schools in Armenian colonies. “The biggest of our national problems is that of the development of language and thinking. It is necessary to create such a united body which will inspire confidence in Armenian colonies and will be able to give solutions to serious national problems,” Hovsep Nalbandyan added.
Referring to the activities of the Armenian colonies, he mentioned that twenty years ago the Armenian communities of Beirut and Aleppo were considered leaders despite the fact that there, too, the decrease of Armenian schools could be noticed.
The Director of “Spyurq” Scientific Research Center, Professor Suren Danielyan, also present at the meeting, notices the significant difference of the current meeting from the previous ones, as Nalbandyan is now more disposed to the educational programme, publishing, books and people of the Diaspora. “The dialogue which Nalbandyan created thanks to the “Hovsep and Caroline Nalbandyan” Foundation and himself crosses the road of the practical motives in the fields of beneficence and education. He does everything so that the books in the Diaspora find their addressees. Hovsep Nalbandyan’s mission is bursting from the fundamental interest of literacy, and his collaboration with the “Spyurq” Scientific Research Center depicts the two worlds living with the same concerns”, Suren Danielyan puts in.
Besides, the students too were deeply impressed meeting with the Diaspora Armenian publisher. Prior to the meeting the sophomore Vanuhi Bahramyan’s impressions about the Diaspora seemed to be under a close veil; “We mainly get informed about the Diaspora from the social networks not clearly realizing that the true Armenian values are missing there. Thus, this meeting is also quite educative for us, as each of us can find himself in the state of an endangered Armenian.”
Upon the end of the meeting the students asked Hovsep Nalbandyan the questions that were of major interest to them and expressed their deepest gratitude for the numerous books of the Armenian Diaspora.
