A joint effort by AGBU Cairo and a dedicated group of young Armenian-Egyptians put on an event to introduce AGBU YP to a wide audience of potential members. In addition to Dr Viken Djizmedjian, Chairman of AGBU Cairo, the event organizers were: Vatché Artinian, Arto Belekdanian, Saro Belekdanian, Aspé Djizmedjian, Roupen Saad, Tamar Sabry, Marina Simonian, and Vartan Terzibashian. This event, which took place on the 1st of March 2019 at AGBU Cairo’s SatenigChaker Cultural Center, was a success by all accounts. It was attended by over thirty people, and many expressed a keen interest in joining AGBU YP Egypt, and organizing and attending more activities.
The event started with a welcoming speech given by Vartan Terzibashian, who was acting as the master of ceremonies, following which Dr Viken Djizmedjian gave the portion of the PowerPoint presentation introducing the Armenian General Benevolent Union in general. The next section was presented by Saro Belekdanian, who did an excellent job of introducing AGBU YP, explaining its mission, organisational structure, rapidly expanding membership, as well as how it operates and stays in touch with other AGBU YP groups.
The third and final portion of the PowerPoint presentation was given by Aspé Djizmedjian, who described the various types of events that AGBU YP groups organize in a very interesting and lively manner, while laying special emphasis on how they should contribute to AGBU’s four pillars of humanitarianism, education, Armenian culture and identity, and socio-economic development.
This was followed by a final segment, in which each of the four speakers expanded on different types of events that AGBU YP Egypt can organize.The first of these, Arto Belekdanian, gave several proposals on activities related to education and Armenian identity, and announced that one of the first events that AGBU YP Egypt will be organising is a lecture by Aspé Djizmedjian and Ayk Zakarian on Armenian identity. The following speaker, Roupen Saad, made several interesting suggestions for cultural events, after whom Tamar Sabry spoke about the humanitarian activities that AGBU YP Egypt can organize, as well as activities which might contribute to Armenia’s socio-economic development. The final speaker, Marina Simonian, made multiple fun suggestions for raising funds for AGBU YP events and humanitarian activities. Additionally, Marina, who had recently returned from London, also shared her very positive experience attending an event organized by the city’s AGBU YP group, where she met its president.
AGBU YP Egypt’s first event was concluded with lively socialising over wine and light music.A general atmosphere of excitement prevailed, and attendees expressed great interest in organising and participating in events. On the whole, it is safe to say that AGBU YP Egypt is off to a strong start, and that there is great anticipation for its future activities. With a video showcasing the event put together for posting on social media, and an article in the works for AGBU’s Déghégadou magazine, this excitement can only grow further.
Founded in 1995, the AGBU Young Professionals (YP) is a growing global network of groups and supporters around the world who preserve and promote Armenian heritage and identity for young Armenians between the ages of 22 to 40. There are 35 groups in 35 cities across 22 countries and 4 continents, but none in Egypt, the very country where the Armenian General Benevolent Union was founded—until now…
Dr. Arto Belekdanian
Click here to watch a video clip of the event
