Armenian Delegation Receives Key to City of Cambridge From Mayor

The Cambridge-Yerevan Sister City Association (CYSCA) Community Connections program delegation from Armenia (photo: ArmenianWeekly.com)

The following article is from ArmenianWeekly.com.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – On June 16, 2008, Cambridge mayor E. Denise Simmons presented in goodwill a welcome proclamation and the key to the City of Cambridge to the Cambridge-Yerevan Sister City Association (CYSCA) Community Connections program delegation of theater managers visiting the Cambridge-Boston area from Armenia.

On June 15, CYSCA held a welcome reception for the group at the Sheraton Commander Hotel, attended by State Representative Alice K. Wolf (D-Mass.) and Cambridge City councilor Sam Seidel.

The delegation includes theater directors, administrators, producers, art directors, educators, playwrights, fundraisers, public relations, and marketing specialists who will participate in a three-week training program aimed at improving theater management in Armenia.

Among them are: Ruben Abrahamyan, assistant general manager at the State Marionette Theater in Yerevan; Ruben Babayan, director and art manager at the State Puppet Theater named after H. Tumanyan in Yerevan, and head of the acting/directing department at the Institute of Theater and Cinema; Hovik Chakhmakhchyan, director of the State Drama Theater named after H. Abelyan in Vanadzor; Armen Harutyunyan, deputy dean of the theater and cinema department at the Yerevan State Institute of Theater and Cinema; Tsolak Galstyan, open air events manager of the Hay Fest International Theater Festival in Yerevan; Narine Grigoryan, lecturer at the Yerevan State Institute of Cinema and Theater, and producer at the State Puppet Theater; Tigran Mkhoyan, director of the "Hamazgayin" State Theater in Yerevan; Mane Mkrtchyan, executive director of the ARMMONO International Shakespeare One Man Show Festival based in Yerevan; Vardan Mkrtchyan, lecturer at the Yerevan State Institute of Theater and Cinema and actor at the "Hamazgayin" Theater; and Emin Torosyan, chief administrator and deputy director at the "Hamazgayin" State Theater.

The program has planned meetings with leading theater companies in Cambridge and Greater Boston, as well as university theater programs and professional associations. Visits to various seminars, round table discussions, and hands-on training all cover specific objectives of the program, namely, modern management practices in theater, fundraising techniques, public relations, marketing, cooperation with universities and businesses, and how to attract young and talented artists. The group will also travel to New York City to meet with performing arts specialists.

Wolf spoke to the group at the Sheraton reception. "I hope you'll have a wonderful program while you're here," she said. "I want you to know that I brought a group of 16 officials from Cambridge to Yerevan exactly 20 years ago and had negotiations. You must remember Armenia was still under the Soviets then. There were very large demonstrations in Opera Square. We brought the first journalists from the West that had been present from six months to a year."

Wolf ended, "We had a wonderful visit and all the people welcomed us with open arms. So I want to welcome you to Cambridge with open arms!" Seidel seconded the sentiment, stating, "On behalf of the mayor and City Council, welcome to Cambridge."

Jack M. Medzorian, the CYSCA vice president and Community Connections Program director, stated in thanks, "This program would not run without the host families. You are integral to our work and this program."

Upon the group's visit to Cambridge City Hall, Seidel gave them a tour of the building, told of Cambridge's governmental functions and day-to-day happenings, and gave a visit to the City Hall Chamber.

Of the Hall's functions, Seidel explained, "They're all public meetings and the public can testify to any issue. The only restriction is that it has to be an issue being talked about that night at the meeting."

After being welcomed to the mayor's office, vice-mayor of Cambridge Brian Murphy stated, "On behalf of the Peace Commission, I want to welcome you and thank you for your works in Armenia."

Mayor Simmons officially welcomed the group and said, "Sister City for us is really about values and community. ... I've never been to Yerevan but I hope someday in the near future I can experience some of the great theater Yerevan and Vanadzor have to offer."

After reading an official proclamation of welcome to the group, Simmons presented the key to the City of Cambridge, saying, "We want you to think of Cambridge as all of your second homes. If you have a second home, you must have a key."

The group, in turn, presented Simmons with its own collaborative words of thanks, stating, "We are so happy that our first visit to the U.S. was to the City of Cambridge. We were so impressed by Cambridge's wealth of history and universities. We know we are not the beginning of this program, but every group becomes more meaningful when it has a better reputation. We will do everything in our power to continue that reputation."

A light reception followed the mayor's proclamation and presentation.

CYSCA was founded in 1987 by the Cambridge City Council and the Cambridge Peace Commission following an exchange of official delegations between Cambridge and Yerevan, with the goals of fostering friendship, mutual trust, and dynamic interaction between the peoples of Yerevan and Cambridge, as well as their neighboring regions.

The Community Connections Program, managed by the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia at the U.S. Agency for International Development and administered by World Learning, is designed to promote public diplomacy through the exchange of cultural ideas and values among participants, U.S. families, and local community host organizations.

It seeks to establish and strengthen links between U.S. communities and communities in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

Source: ArmenianWeekly.com

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