MPSIA and MPA Students in Berlin Raise Awareness About Forcibly Displaced Artsakhtsis
2 min readBERLIN, Germany — Students from the American University of Armenia’s (AUA) Master of Political Science and International Affairs (MPSIA) and Master of Public Affairs (MPA) programs, Areg Khachatrian (MPSIA ’25) and Gohar Marutyan (MPA ’25), are currently spending a semester abroad at Freie Universität Berlin (FUB) through the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission.
Alongside their studies in Germany, they have initiated an awareness campaign about forcibly displaced individuals from Artsakh. Through this campaign, the students are fundraising to provide support to the forcibly displaced Armenians from Artsakh, as part of their desire to make a change at home while studying abroad.
Speaking about this initiative, Khachatrian shared: “During our Erasmus+ semester in Berlin, Gohar and I noticed many posters around campus raising awareness for various issues. Therefore, we decided that it would be a good opportunity to raise awareness about forcibly displaced Armenians from Artsakh and motivate people to donate in order to make the lives of these individuals more tolerable. We contacted the All For Armenia nonprofit organization, and after receiving approval from the administration of FUB for the initiative, we designed and printed the posters. We hung up the posters around campus so that students here can learn more about the forcibly displaced Artsakhtsis and donate toward that cause. We believe that every Armenian can make a change, no matter where they are at any given moment.”
Marutyan concurred, adding: “I think this initiative can not only serve as a source of funding for our compatriots, but also offer a useful opportunity to inform the international community at FUB about the struggles that people from Artsakh are facing now. FUB has students and professors from every corner of the world, and Areg and I never miss a chance to educate them about the situation in our country.”
Khachatrian and Marutyan feel the responsibility to educate their classmates and professors from around the world about pertinent issues in their homeland as they build an international network in Germany. While they gain valuable educational experiences abroad, these students still have their eyes on their home country, trying their best to help their compatriots through every means possible.
The Master of Public Affairs program gives students the analytical, policy, administrative, and leadership skills needed to make an impact on Armenian society and beyond. Public organizations need grounded leaders who recognize that policy challenges are fluid, interconnected, and global. Hence, MPA students are taught how to ask and answer relevant political questions, how to design policy solutions to public problems, and how to administer those solutions with skilled leadership and management appropriate to public, private, and nonprofit organizations. The program provides a substantive focus on development policy, strategy, and leadership – all essential to advancing the prosperity and stability of Armenia.