TUFENKIAN FOUNDATION PRESENTS GIFTED & TALENTED SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS IN STEPANAKERT CONCERT

STEPANAKERT, NKR—Friday, June 16 was a bright day for the people of Stepanakert and the Tufenkian Foundation, as the Foundation sponsored its first year-end concert featuring scholarship winners from its Taghandavor Yeridasardner program for gifted-and-talented youth. The concert took place at Stepanakert’s Palace of Youth and Culture, drawing an enthusiastic crowd of more than 350. 

The concert featured 14 young talents who offered outstanding performances in a variety of settings and genres. Some performed on instruments including the piano, violin, guitar as well as the traditional Armenian tar and shvi. Others contributed with vocal renditions of a wide range of musical repertoire. Prior to the concert, there also took place an exhibition featuring medals, diplomas, and works of other recipients active in sports and the fine arts.

The program concluded with a short speech by Armen Sargsyan, a member of the NKR Parliament and head of the project’s supervisory commission: “We welcome the actions of the Tufenkian Foundation in implementing this project along with various other projects like resettlement, grape cultivation, and infrastructure development. The current venture not only pursues the discovery and development of talent among our youth, but also keeps alive our national traditions and Armenian culture,” Sargsyan noted. Taghandavor Yeridasardner can become a bridge that connects the entire Armenian nation, spreading our centuries-old traditions and innovations worldwide.” 

Conceived in conjunction with the NKR Ministry of Education, Taghandavor Yeridasardner (Talented Youth) provides higher education and professional development for youth who show the potential to make major contributions in their respective fields. During its inaugural year, the program supported the activities of 28 young talents in Stepanakert, and this year will expand to include Karabagh’s Martuni district as well. In coming years, Taghandavor Yeridasardner will likely cover the whole of Karabagh. The program’s development has been facilitated, in part, by the generous co-sponsorship of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church (NY). 

The program’s supervisory board consists of specialists drawn from appropriate professions—specifically sports, fine arts, education, and vocal/instrumental music. This year’s program will expand to include film as well. Scholarship criteria are based on talent as well as need, and recipients receive one year of support in the form of tuition rebates or coverage of performance-related expenses.

The Tufenkian Foundation was established in 1999 by New York-based entrepreneur James Tufenkian. The Foundation currently pursues a wide array of humanitarian projects in Armenia and in Karabagh, and also sponsors the “Armenian Forests” NGO. To learn more about the Foundation’s efforts, please see the Foundation’s website now under construction at www.tufenkianfoundation.org, or contact Antranig Kasbarian at (201) 221-1055, ext. 327 or at akasbarian@tufenkiancarpets.com .

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