SINGAPORE
EMBRACES ARMENIAN NATIONAL OLYMPIC TEAM
-----Armenians
experience the amazing wonders of Singapore and strengthen
Armenian positive contributions to Singapore----
Dateline:
Singapore, September 16, 2010
The Singapore
community warmly embraced the Armenian National Olympic
Team at the first-ever Youth Olympic Games, held in Singapore
from August 14 to 26. The Armenian team experienced the
amazing wonders of Singapore and strengthened Armenian positive
contributions to Singapore.
The Armenian delegation and the Singapore-Armenian
Development Council give their warmest appreciation to all
those who contributed to make this event such a wonderful
success, including the International Olympic Committee,
as well as the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising
Committee, Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore’s
National Heritage Board, and National Parks Singapore. The
Council also thanks those foreign embassies that expressed
support including the United States, the People’s
Republic of China, the Republic of India, the United Arab
Emirates, and the Republic of Armenia.
A spokesperson for the Council congratulated
all members of the Armenian team and offered them the Council’s
assistance in strengthening their positive contributions
to Singapore. Pierre Hennes, a member of the Council, said
“Singapore welcomed the Armenian delegation with open
arms, making them feel like family, and showed them the
many reasons for the amazing Singapore success.”
“The Council is committed to assisting
Armenians worldwide to contribute to Singapore on a scale
that would make our ancestors proud. The Council has three-year
goals for Armenians’ contributions to Singapore and
expects to meet or exceed those KPIs,” commented Paul
B. Kazarian, Chairman of the Charles & Agnes Kazarian
Foundation, a founding member of the Council.
The
Singapore-Armenian Development Council organized several
events with the goal of having the Armenians experience
the amazing wonders of Singapore and strengthen Armenian
positive contributions to Singapore. The Armenians visited
a number of landmarks representing the positive Armenian
historical contributions to Singapore, including Armenian
Street, a main street in Central Singapore; the Straits
Times, Singapore’s national daily newspaper, founded
by Armenians; and, the Singapore Botanic Gardens, where
they viewed the Singapore national flower, Vanda Miss Joaquim,
named after its Armenian founder Agnes Joaquim. The Team
also visited the Armenian Apostolic Church of St Gregory
the Illuminator, the oldest Christian church in Singapore.
Built in 1835, the Church will be host to a series of events
to be held in March 2011 in celebration of its 175th Anniversary.
For more information on the anniversary celebrations, visit:
www.armeniansinasia.org/175-years/.
To strengthen Armenian positive contributions
to Singapore, the Singapore-Armenian Development Council
organized visits to the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
at the National School of Singapore, the Singapore Science
Park, and Singapore Management University, as well as meetings
with global entrepreneurs and business leaders interested
in expanding trade relations with Armenia and its Diaspora.
Under the auspices of the Games, the Mayflower
Secondary School in Singapore organized an Armenian cultural
week and the medal winning athletes visited the school and
students. Also, the Council organized an impressive community
dinner reception honoring the Armenian Olympic delegation.
In total, the Armenian delegation totaled
29 members. The Armenian team won one silver medal (Gor
Minasyan, weightlifting 85+kg) and 3 bronze medals (Smbat
Margaryan, weightlifting 56kg; Artak Hovhannisyan, freestyle
wrestling 46kg; and Davit Ghazaryan, judo 66kg).
The Republic of Armenia is located at the
crossroads of Asia and Europe; north of the Mediterranean
Sea, south of the Black Sea, and west of the Caspian Sea.
There are approximately eight million Armenians worldwide,
with three million in the Republic of Armenia. Armenians,
throughout history, have been highly regarded as positive
global citizens for their creativity and global commerce.
Today, they are also known for their innovation and entrepreneurial
spirit.
To
view related pictures and videos of the events, or to learn
more about Armenian communities in Asia, visit: www.armeniansinasia.org
and internet links noted in attached list.
Also, to read more about Armenians Junior
Olympians who participated in the Singapore Youth Olympic
Games see attached list.
About Singapore-Armenian Development Council:
The Council was established in 2009 to strengthen the Armenian
community in Singapore and promote commerce between Singapore,
the Republic of Armenia, and the Armenian Diaspora through
initiatives that inspire creativity and innovation in these
communities. The Council is committed to assisting Armenians
worldwide to contribute to Singapore on a scale that exceeds
top global benchmarks. The Council has three-year goals
for Armenians’ contributions to Singapore and measures
its success through several key performance indicators.
About The Charles & Agnes Kazarian Foundation:
The Kazarian Foundation, an affiliate of Japonica Partners,
seeks to empower great aspiration in the whole human family.
The Kazarian Foundation's mission is guided by the knowledge
contained in “New Philanthropy Benchmarking: Wisdom
for the Passionate”, especially the principle that
the social sector can achieve transformative change by cultivating
intense positive competition among its stakeholders. The
Kazarian Foundation seeks to empower families through economic
development, education, and healthcare initiatives. The
Kazarian Foundation has approximately 100 professionals
globally.
For more information contact:
Pierre
Hennes
Vahagn Vardanyan
communities@armeniansinasia.org
www.armeniansinasia.org
Christopher
Magarian
The Charles & Agnes Kazarian Foundation
cmagarian@kazarianfoundation.org
www.kazarianfoundation.org
SINGAPORE-ARMENIAN DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
_______________________________________________________________________
ATTACHMENT A
Armenian Delegation: In total, the Armenian delegation of
29 people includes Deputy Minister of Culture, Sport, and
Youth Affairs Mr. Samvel Khachatryan, Deputy Chairman of
National Olympic Committee of Armenia Mr. Derenik Gabrielyan,
Secretary-General of National Olympic Committee of Armenia
Mr. Hrachya Rostomyan, 14 athletes representing 12 sports
(12 boys and 2 girls), coaches, and technical personnel.
The sports represented are: weightlifting (b, 85+kg), Greco-Roman
wrestling (b, 85kg), freestyle wrestling (b, 46kg), swimming
(b, g), diving (b), gymnastics (b), athletics (g), archery
(b), judo (b, 66kg), boxing (b, 60kg), canoe-kayak (b),
and shooting (b).
Links to photographs:
Armenian Youth Olympics Team at the Raffles Hotel: http://armeniansinasia.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/2010-08-27-singapore-yog-1.jpg
Armenian Youth Olympics Team inside Armenian Church:
http://armeniansinasia.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/2010-08-27-singapore-yog-2.jpg
Armenian Youth Olympics Team outside Armenian Church: http://armeniansinasia.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/2010-08-27-singapore-yog-3.jpg
Links to videos:
Video montage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSNcWJSJiwc
Photo montage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3ubS-h__9Q
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