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As an outcome of the Armenia Diaspora Conference, we anticipated the adoption of specific projects as well as a discussion of mechanisms for general collaboration between Armenia and Diaspora.

During the planning stages, and during the thematic panels which were held during these two days, many specific and general projects and needs have been articulated. A summary of all sessions, together with copies of specific submissions will all be posted on www.armeniadiaspora.com, as well as all responses and commentary about those proposals.

Attached are selected proposals, chosen because they are necessary, implementable and affect both Armenia and Diaspora. We expect that these projects will become the means through which the proposed mechanism for planning and implementation is optimized. We hope also that in the process of implementing these projects, such mechanisms for Armenia Diaspora collaboration will become institutionalized.

Finally, we anticipate that through these projects, regular formal and informal meetings will take place among those interested in collaboration. Thus periodic all-encompassing Armenia Diaspora Conferences will become a means and a forum for linking the right individuals and organizations to the right projects, and where specific projects are adopted on an ongoing basis and others are noted for their completion.

Projects Adopted

COMPUTERIZATION OF SCHOOLS

The objective is to computerize all 1500 schools in Armenia and another 200 in Nagorno Karabagh. Of this total, 300 will be connected by 2003, through the resources of existing programs The target is the completion of the remainder by 2005. Education in Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh must remain relevant and effective in order to form students suited to the challenges and techniques of the information age. This will close the existing gap and nurture educational development. What is needed is a plan for acquisition and implementation, equipment, training, instruction and internal management.

CENTER FOR GENOCIDE STUDIES

A research and publication center for the study of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 is necessary in Armenia. Although, in the last 87 years, there has been historical, analytical, narrative, anecdotal, biographical and personal research, it is necessary to augment this effort, systematize it and encourage a new generation of scholars. A center which is staffed and developed by joint Armenia-Diaspora effort

VIRTUAL ARMENIAN STUDIES UNIVERSITY

By taking advantage of information technology, this project will establish an internet-based university to provide resources and courses in Armenian studies. A combination data base and on-line classes will provide teachers, scholars and students an opportunity to exchange ideas, study the past and analyze current and future issues. A curriculum devised by practitioners will provide a model for Armenian Studies at the high school and college levels. This method will allow Armenians worldwide to take advantage of the small but valuable community of Armenian Studies experts, encourage new students to enter the field, and lead to the development of a common information and knowledge base among a geographically diverse community. This virtual shared intellectual space can lead to cooperative new work and research.

COMMITTEE ON CURRICULUM

As a nation-state with a large Diaspora, what Armenians learn about themselves – their heritage and their legacy – is critical to their self-image and the way in which they determine how to build their future. This committee will provide a forum for Armenian educators to meet and discuss various approaches for teaching Armenian language, culture and history. Aspects of such a curriculum may be adopted by schools and educators in Armenia and the Diaspora.

IDENTIFYING AND SUPPORTING ARMENIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

In order to benefit from the existing and future potential of Armenian students in universities in Armenia, Nagorno Karabagh and the Diaspora, a committee of university students and professors will devise a program to identify, track and support college students. They will devise ways to provide attention and assistance to individuals, as well as student groups capable of initiating activities and promoting visibility. A network and database of students will be the launching pad for finding scholarship sources, encouraging civic involvement, and facilitating higher education for capable and deserving students who desire a university education and are aware of its future benefits.

REGIONAL HEALTH CENTER

The purpose of this complex, multi-dimensional project is to bring together all appropriate resources from the Diaspora and within Armenia and Artsakh together to create and establish in Yerevan a world-class health care center. It will be the objective of this center to develop and provide medical facilities anchored by a hospital and equipped with all modern and up-to-date technologies, specialized institutes, clinics, short and medium term convalescent facilities to provide access to clients and patients from the region. Besides being a revenue generator and a source of employment, this project will make it possible to raise the level of health care in Armenia and to provide opportunities for Diasporan medical professionals and trainees to come an participate in the delivery of health care in Armenia. The Government of Armenia will provide the land and building.

DIASPORA MUSEUM

The purpose of establishing a Diaspora Museum in Armenia is to create a repository of artifacts, icons, material, archival evidence, a narrative of the life of communities. By juxtaposing materials from ever wherever Armenians have journeyed and settled abroad, this museum will document the unity through diversity of all our disparate homes away from home. It is natural that such a museum be built through the combined resources and planning of Armenia and Diaspora. It is equally natural that such a museum be based in Armenia, on land provided by the Government of Armenia.