Chairman's Statement

Today, we are all living and witnessing a very special and exciting period of our Armenian national history in the making. For the first time for many centuries, Armenia is a fledgeling independent state on a small fragment of the territory of historic Armenia.

With a century of dedication to the preservation and promotion of the Armenian identity, heritage and culture worldwide, the AGBU understood at the ouset the significance of this historic development and set about reshaping its programmes to better meet the changing circumstances and needs of the Armenian people. It recognised early the opportunity for strengthening the ties of the Diaspora with the homeland; the positive consequences of unfolding events on the preservation of the Diaspora; and the significant challenges of establishing a strong, modern, prosperous and secure Armenia.

In London, we are playing our part and making our contribution to the new global AGBU mission and the new realities that face us all. Our activities over the past six years focused on the strengthening of our social and cultural ties with Armenia and Karabakh, while continuing to support our community, our local schools and enaging with our youth through community and cultural events.

We are also focusing on improving the living conditions of deprived children in disadvantaged regions of Armenia and Karbakh by improving the conditions of the schools they attend, by providing a minimum daily nourishment to children attending kindergartens and making it possible for children, who would never have gone far from their boarding schools, to be taken on short breaks and discover their own country for the first time in their lives. We are proud that some of our young AGBU members raised funds for needy children in Armenia, meeting the cost of their sponsored hike in the Lake District out of their own pockets.

Our project to rebuild the new border village of Pareshen in Karabagh will give hope and a future to refugee families displaced by the Karabakh war and the 1988 Armenian earthquake. We are proud that AGBU London, with the help of generous members of the UK community, is building the village in Karabakh.

We are also proud that AGBU London members voluntarily give their time  in organising and supporting cultural and youth activities that serve the UK community without expecting anything in return. We are proud that we are able to support our London Saturday and Sunday Schools and help students of Armenian descent study at UK universities to reach their potential.

We are also proud that we support our church through the Holy See of Etchmiadzin and proud that we sponsor many public cultural, educational and commemorative events like the conference at the House of Lords on Recognising Genocides to promote Armenian history, heritage and culture.

Finally we are proud that every penny we raise is used for the purpose for which it is raised. All expenses whether on trips to Armenia or locally incurred are met from the personal funds of members. Not one penny is taken from AGBU funds for the administration of projects.

Global AGBU celebrates its centenary in 2006. We are very proud and fortunate to have had and still have dedicated loyal members and generous donors who believe in its mission and sustain its goal of preserving and promoting the Armenian culture and heritage worldwide including Armenia, through educational, humanitarian and cultural programmes.

Please join us if you want to make a difference.