KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

“The Pedagogical University plays a unique role in the life of our country. The quality of school mostly depends on teachers. Being a major pedagogical institution in the country, we should take serious steps to make radical changes in school-building. Great is the role of the Laboratory for Armenian Civilization Studies in this context. The Pedagogical University finds it one of its objectives to make Armenian History and Civilization accessible to everyone,” Rector of Armenian State Pedagogical University, Ruben Mirzakhanyan, said in his opening remarks during a conference entitled “Contemporary Issues in Armenian Civilization.” He expressed hope that in the future an institute with the same name would be established on the basis of the Laboratory.

The conference was attended by representatives of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan State University, Gyumri State Pedagogical Institute and different scientific and educational institutions.
The ASPU Rector stressed once again that ‘universities will become research-oriented institutions in the future, which is an accepted practice in the world.’ Speaking about cooperation with foreign partners, Ruben Mirzakhanyan assured the attendees that many of them have a special interest in Armenology (Armenian Studies) and Armenian Civilization.

“In recent years, attempts were made in Armenia even at governmental levels to study Armenian Civilization, which unfortunately, were discontinued. The laboratory has set a task to move forward and establish a scientific concept of Armenian Civilization,” said Ruben Safrastyan, Head of the Chair of World History and its Teaching Methods and the Laboratory for Armenian Civilization Studies. He added that they had already organized discussions with leading specialists of Pedagogy and Social Science sectors. “The University has the necessary scientific potential to perform the task,” he stressed.

Ruben Safrastyan assured everyone that the Laboratory will use the method of comparison when developing the concept which will be conventional in nature. Also, a scientific collective will be set up in the process. “We do not need to prove that there was Armenian Civilization, we need to reach an agreement over it in the circles of Armenian intellectuals, spiritual elite and cream of society. The 21st century brings on new and dangerous challenges and the concept will be a worthy response to them,” the Professor added. He also expressed his wish to expand the activities of the Laboratory and its Pan-Armenian significance.

Edgar Hovhannisyan, Dean of the Faculty of History and Law, said the laboratory has all-university importance but is directly connected with the Faculty. “We have initiated to open a research faculty which is the first-ever attempt in our reality to study Armenian Civilization because there is a certain confusion at scientific levels,” Edgar Hovhannisyan said. He added that such initiatives are aimed at laying scientific and theoretical basis for key issues related to Armenian Civilization.

The opening ceremony was followed by reports of the participants who referred to national values, preservation of the system of established values in the current phase of globalization, the role of Diaspora and its civilization and other issues.

The reports were followed by a question-and-answer session and active discussion.