YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, ARMENPRESS. 600 young Armenians representing the Diasporas in over 50 countries have gathered in Yerevan for the first-ever National Youth Forum organized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs.

100 speakers from 15 countries are also in attendance.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan said that the goal of the forum is to enable young Diaspora-Armenians to engage in the development of Armenia, connect them with one another, and empower them to expand their work and impact in their communities.

Topics to be discussed at the forum will include the role of the youth, models of involving young people, protection of Armenian interests and national security, Armenia-Diaspora relations, identity, development of science and education, technological progress, repatriation, opportunities in Armenia and others.

Garik Israelian, an astrophysicist and co-founder of the Starmus Festival, is one of the special guests at the forum. He described the forum to be highly important for the youth in Armenia and the Diaspora.

“We’ve always said that the youth is our future, but that’s not the case, today’s youth is the present, because times have changed a lot, and today, teenagers aged 15-16 are capable of doing a lot more than twenty years earlier due to development of technologies, access to information and many other factors. And that’s why it is highly important to involve the youth in decision-making and listen to them in all platforms,” Israelian said.

Photos by Mkhitar Khachatryan