PSIA Visits Artsakh to Present Artsakh Heritage Project
2 min readSTEPANAKERT, Artsakh — The American University of Armenia (AUA) Turpanjian Center for Policy Analysis continues its work on the recently launched project “The Armenian Cultural Heritage of Artsakh: Inventorying for Safeguarding” which aims to enhance the protection of endangered Armenian treasures in Artsakh by cataloging the wealth of cultural artifacts, edifices, and other objects on the project’s website which is hosted on AUA’s site, in partnership with the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
During the May 24th event held at the Paul Eluard Francophone Center in Stepanakert under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of the Artsakh Republic of Artsakh and attended by Minister Anahit Hakobyan and Artsakh State Minister Artak Beglaryan, the AUA project members presented the website, current works, and upcoming undertakings and prospects.
Led by Project Leader and AUA Political Science and International Affairs (PSIA) Associate Professor Dr. Asbed Kotchikian the team members spoke about the project, its goals, and the importance of making Artsakh’s cultural heritage, as well as origin and authorship of Artsakh treasures accessible to the international community. “The need for such a project is more than imperative today,” said Dr. Kotchikian while reviewing the inception and execution of the initial stage of the project. “We conceived this idea in January 2021 and quickly realized it is far above the resources of a handful of volunteers. As such, we are happy to see that similar projects have been executed in the last two years. The more such sites populate cyberspace, the more exposure the topic will get,” he added. Lead Researcher Dr. Nazenie Garibian, along with archaeologist Gagik Sargsyan and Project Assistant Nare Sukiasyan (PSIA ‘22), presented the work completed so far along with the planned activities.
The presentation was followed by a Q&A session and discussion with the attendees. One of the recommendations that stemmed from the conversation was the prospect of broadening cooperation with Artsakh authorities and communities and engaging local volunteers in the project.
For more on the project, please visit AUA’s Artsakh Heritage webpage.
The Political Science and International Affairs (PSIA) program of the American University of Armenia (AUA) equips students with advanced analytical reasoning, critical thinking, and communication skills through the study of political science and international affairs, emphasizing local and global perspectives and practical applications of theory. The program provides world-class teaching and research, producing graduates who can best contribute to the development of the nation.
