Please do not panic.
In Ijevan, the representatives of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Armenia held a meeting with the Deputy Governor of Tavush, as well as with the heads of the Ijevan, Berd, and Noyemberyan communities.
During the meeting, issues related to the mandate of the mission and the activities of the staff were discussed. The sides also referred to the formats of cooperation and to the importance of the mission’s work at the local level.
“Cooperation with local authorities in border regions continues to remain one of the priorities of the EU Monitoring Mission, with the aim of contributing to peace and stability in the South Caucasus,” the mission’s statement reads.
For the purpose of replacing damaged pipes detected at the 1.05 km section of the DN 100 diameter branch gas pipeline feeding the “Noyemberyan” gas distribution station, and in order to carry out works to prevent an emergency situation, on August 20 from 09:00 until August 21 at 21:00, the gas supply will be suspended for gas consumers in the town of Noyemberyan of Tavush Province, as well as in the settlements of Ayrum, Koghb, Berdavan, Haghtanak, Zorakan, Dovegh, Lchkadzor, Bagratashen, Ptghavan, Deghdzavan, Debedavan, and Archis.
On August 12, a youthful and creative mood reigned at the Noyemberyan Art School. International Youth Day was celebrated.
The event was opened by the director of the Art School, Lena Mehrabyan, emphasizing the role of youth in shaping the future of the country, developing the community, and enriching cultural life.
During the day, the young people drew, participated in a carpet weaving master class, and talented young people from the community presented their works.
The festive event was concluded by a moving speech by the poetess Armenuhi Tsaturyan, which filled the hall with the spirit of art and inspiration.
Photos by Shake Avagyan.
On August 12, educational, cultural, interactive and multi-faceted events dedicated to International Youth Day will be held throughout the republic. In Tavush Region, the programs will include sports and cultural events, intellectual game competitions, film screenings, theatrical performances and thematic discussions.
Artsvaberd – Series of events (House of Culture, 11:00).
Paravakar – Hike to nature (from the yard of the House of Culture, 12:00).
Nerkin Karmiraghbyur – Yard Camp (Mayrik Park, 17:00).
Movses – Festive Event (Culture House, 12:00).
Verin Tsaghkavan – Event (Village Administration Yard, 11:00).
Verin Karmiraghbyur – Yard Camp (Culture House, 13:00).
Choratan – Yard Camp (Culture House, 17:00-20:00).
Roundtable discussion on the topic “Hate Speech in Social Networks” (11:00-13:00).
Discussion on the topic “Problems of Youth in Rural Communities” (Aghavnavank, 12:00-14:00).
Joint drawing initiative of children and youth (town square, 16:00).
Film screening (YPK office, 17:30-19:00).
Youth game (YPK office, 19:00-20:15).
Astronomy (city square, 20:15).
Concert program (House of Culture, 18:00).
Garbage collection with the participation of young people in Azatamut (11:00).
Event-discussion entitled “Youth Wave” (Gandzakar, 12:00).
“Youth Light in Getahovit” musical evening (18:00).
Hike to the sanctuary of Kotrts Yegts (Aygehovit, 11:00).
Meeting with the youth of Achajri and a master class in carpet weaving (House of Culture, 12:00).
The holiday will be accompanied by creative ideas from young people, community activism, and new opportunities for collaboration.
In the mountains of the Noyemberyan community of Tavush Province, the “Mother Earth” festival has already been held for the fourth year. Beginning in 2022, this festival uniquely unites tradition and innovation, bringing together both locals and guests arriving from various corners of Armenia and abroad.
The festival lasts for two days and one night—with outdoor camping in tents and cabins—under conditions of unforgettable rest and active recreation. With a diverse and multifaceted program, the festive days are filled with cultural and educational events.
During the festival, the following are organized:
Thyme gathering, accompanied by live guitar and flute music and a small food break,
Outdoor baking of the traditional “terteruk” (also called nazuk, sali, hasali, psali – the sweet has several names in Tavush),
Thyme tea drinking around the campfire to the sounds of the guitar,
An exhibition-sale of local produce, handicrafts, and artworks,
Master classes in various professions and skills.
The philosophy of the festival weaves together the old and the new, the traditional and the modern, the pleasant and the useful, giving everyone the opportunity to engage with our beautiful culture. The “Mother Earth” festival contributes to the development of tourism and local businesses, promotes the recognition of the region, and values the Mother Earth as homeland and as the highest value.
It is noteworthy that, thanks to the thyme gathering events held alongside the festival, it has already spontaneously received the name “Thyme Festival,” which has been gladly and joyfully accepted by participants. It is expected that over the years, the “Mother Earth” festival will become an important annual pan-Armenian event, offering visitors a spiritually and aesthetically enriching experience.
“Emergency Channel” informative NGO and Tavush Media continue their work to increase the resilience of the population of border settlements in Tavush region. On November 14, within the framework of the “Life on the Border” program, a roundtable discussion was held in Noyemberyan on the topic “Border demarcation, prospects, challenges, solutions”.
The purpose of the discussion was to increase the resilience of border settlements in Tavush region by raising awareness among residents and raising awareness of existing problems and challenges.
The meeting was held based on the latest events in Tavush region, a summary analysis of our surveys, and residents’ observations, with the aim of informing the population and highlighting steps aimed at increasing the resilience of border settlements.
Representatives of local self-government bodies, community and non-governmental organizations, as well as representatives of state bodies, participated in the meeting. The main speaker, political scientist Samvel Meliksetyan, presented in detail the challenges, possible prospects, obstacles and ways to solve them related to the demarcation process.
During the discussion, the participants raised key issues related to the security of the border communities of Tavush region, the socio-economic conditions of the residents.
Border settlements, first of all, with their security and resilience issues, are among our priorities, and in the near future, expect programs on civil defense, disaster risk management, healthcare, education, employment, human rights, media literacy and other pressing topics. The one is informed, is protected.
“Emergency Channel” Information NGO and Tavush Media, together with Freedom House, are launching a new project aimed at combating disinformation and fake news in Tavush region, preventing media manipulation, spreading and improving media literacy, and creating a unified educational and advisory information platform. It will contribute to the dissemination of accurate, reliable, trustworthy information in the Tavush region, reducing the negative consequences of false and fake news.
As part of the project, on October 8, a training session was held at the “Vernatun” gallery in Ijevan on the topic of “Digital Security, Information Resilience, Security at the Border.” The training was conducted and experiences were shared by Tavush Media partners – information security specialist, media expert, co-founder of CyberHUB cybersecurity company, co-author and coordinator of Ditord.org Samvel Martirosyan, and Armenia program coordinator of the Multilateral Information Institute, media expert, CyberHUB team co-founder Artur Papyan.
The staff of Tavush Media, young correspondents, employees of partner organizations, students, representatives of state administration and local self-government bodies had the opportunity to learn about important topics: digital security, information resilience, and border security. During the meeting, the speakers answered questions from the participants.
The training and the launching project are important steps towards strengthening information security and media education in Tavush, providing the population with accurate and reliable information, strengthening the resilience of communities against disinformation.
Ptghavan: Our present, concerns, achievements, dreams, challenges.
In the video, the people of the village present their integration into community life and the history of Ptghavan. The village of Ptghavan in Noyemberyan was founded in the 1950s. Most of the village’s residents migrated here in the late 1980s from various Armenian-populated regions of Azerbaijan.
Tavush region, with its values, nature, historical heritage and modern ideas, has great potential in the tourism sector. We talk about the current problems, development trends and prospects in this sector at the TavushTV pavilion with Sos Khachikyan, Chairman of the Board of the Tavush Region Tourism Development Agency, and Ani Hovhannisyan, Head of the Tourism Component of “Go To Dili” Company.