View of the Gulbenkian museum in Lisbon. Via Wikipedia
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Lisbon, Portugal – The new Programming Plan of the Armenian Communities Department (ACD) of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation lays out the key components of its funding priorities and activities for the next five years (2014-2018). Launching in December 2013, it is based on the Department’s mission “to create a viable future for the Armenian people in which its culture and language are preserved and valued.” The Plan is structured around the four priority areas which are crucial in fulfilling that mission: promoting the preservation of Armenian language and culture through education, supporting Armenia by investing in its youth and civil society, helping to improve Armenian-Turkish relations and preserving Armenian literary heritage.
A consultative process was undertaken that affirmed these needs. The most important issue arising is the rapid loss of the language Calouste Gulbenkian spoke: Western Armenian. For this reason much of the funding will go towards safeguarding and developing the language and culture, particularly in the diaspora. A strategic approach is being adopted as the Department begins to provide larger sums to fewer initiatives, so that greater impact is assured.
What follows is a presentation of the programmes, grouped around four priority areas. In addition to these, two further initiatives will be introduced: turning the Department into a hub of connections and strategic thinking for the Armenian world, and humanitarian support in unforeseen circumstances (e.g. the Armenian community in Syria). Programmes will be implemented throughout the world by trusted partners.
1. Preservation of the Armenian language and culture, and the development of the diaspora by linking its different parts and investing in education
i) Loss of the Western Armenian Language
Western Armenian is an “Endangered Language” according to UNESCO, under the threat of disappearing if serious initiatives are not undertaken to reinforce it. This generation is probably the last generation that can halt or possibly reverse this process of not-so-gradual loss of a language that was a vibrant source of Armenian culture only half a century ago. The ACD will focus on the following four areas to reinforce and develop the language:
A. Support to Armenian Schools and Other Educational Initiatives in the Diaspora
Armenian schools will continue to receive funding. There will be a focus on less developed countries where the Armenian community faces significant material limitations, and where there also is a critical mass of Armenian speakers (or the potential of having such a critical mass). Where there is demographic growth in a community, support for the set-up of new schools or the strengthening of existing ones will be considered.
Student-related initiatives that preserve the language will also be financed. Innovative youth initiatives that encourage Armenians in the diaspora to speak the language and to produce culture in it will be backed, particularly in Western countries. Emphasis will be put on extra-curricular activities related to culture and initiatives that are led by young people speaking to their interests as defined by them rather than defined by traditional community leaders.
B. Support the Creation of a Teacher Training Centre for Western Armenian
The Department aims to foster an intellectual community that can teach the language in schools, edit the newspapers and websites of tomorrow, produce culture and manage community affairs in Armenian. To this end, it will provide a significant grant over the next two years to establish somewhere in the diaspora an Armenian Teacher Training Centre or Programme. It will also support the establishment of an International Western Armenian Teachers Association.
C. Academic Centres and University-Based Initiatives that Teach Western Armenian and Culture, Research the Use of Western Armenian or Contribute to Armenian Studies
Support will be available for academic centres and initiatives where Western Armenian is taught to students who specialise in Armenian studies or are learning the language for personal reasons, as well as innovative projects on the use and reinforcement of Western Armenian. Additionally, some support will be given to conferences and lectures focused on Armenian studies.
D. Use of New Technologies
Historically Armenians have been at the forefront of new technologies and have adapted these to the needs of Armenian culture. The ACD hopes to continue this tradition and encourage the use of modern technologies in teaching the language, producing culture and making Armenian part of the “technological world” of youth. As such, web courses and other electronic learning opportunities, innovative apps for culture and language, interactive electronic publications, online networks and other such initiatives will be considered for support. Emphasis will be put upon initiatives that reach out to Armenian youth around the world electronically, linking them, bringing Armenian culture to them and encouraging them to produce culture.
ii) Scholarships
Scholarships continue to be at the heart of the Department’s funding. It has developed five principal categories for university student support. In general, fewer, larger, merit-based scholarships will be awarded in order to ensure greater impact. Full information on each grant and applicant eligibility will be available on the Department’s website. The scholarship categories for the next five years are as follows: i) The Calouste Gulbenkian Global Excellence Scholarship for Armenian Students (four per year); ii) The Calouste Gulbenkian Armenian Studies Scholarship (six to ten); iii) Western Armenian Teacher Training Scholarships (six); iv) Short Term Conference and Travel Grants to Students in Armenia (approx. forty); v) The Calouste Gulbenkian Undergraduate Studies Scholarships (approx. forty). On an ad hoc basis, modest support to Armenian university students already studying in Portugal may be considered. Emergency scholarships will be provided to students caught up in conflict or other major crisis situations.