SYDNEY: On Thursday 30th September 2021, the Armenian Youth Federation of Australia (AYF-AU) hosted a virtual meeting as part of their annual Artsakh Awareness Week program, marking one year since the 2020 Artsakh War.

The virtual meeting brought together over 100 leaders from various Armenian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Greek and Jewish youth groups from across Australia.

The overarching aim of the AYF-AU’s Artsakh Awareness Week is to inform the broader Australian public on the Republic of Artsakh and its right to self-determination, with an additional focus this year being on the devastating impacts of the 2020 44-day Artsakh War and the ongoing aggressive policies of the Republic of Azerbaijan against Armenians.

Haig Kayserian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU), featured as the event’s guest speaker. He delivered a presentation titled “The Whats of Artsakh'' which alerted attendees on the history of the Republic of Artsakh, the 44-day war, the aggressive policies of the Republic of Azerbaijan against Armenia and Artsakh, the ongoing captivity of Armenian prisoners of war and Artsakh’s right to self-determination.

Following the presentation an informative discussion took place.

AYF-AU Central Executive Chair, Francois Pamboukian said: “We are extremely pleased with the amount of support we have received from our friends from the Assyrian, Egyptian, Greek and Jewish communities, who all accepted our invitation and joined our meeting.

He continued to explain that “all attendees were very engaged and interested in learning about Artsakh”.

Michael Kolokossian of the AYF-AU Central Executive expressed his gratitude to the youth that attended.

“We thank our friends of all ethnicities who joined our meeting and expressed their solidarity with Artsakh,” Kolokossian said.

“We intend to continue to develop on the relationship we have established with these youth organisations and continue working together to raise awareness for Artsakh and all persecuted minorities.”

AYF-AU’s Artsakh Awareness Week activities concluded on Friday 1 October 2021 with a blood drive in memory of the lives lost during the Artsakh War. Earlier in the week, the organisation succeeded in taking over Twitter trends on the first anniversary of the Nagorno Karabakh War, raising much-needed awareness for Artsakh and the aggressive regime of Azerbaijan's dictator, Ilham Aliyev.

Olivia Dilanchian of the AYF-AU Central Executive explained: “While our week of activism has concluded, our organisation's efforts never cease. The AYF-AU’s three chapters across Australia will not stop in our efforts in raising awareness and fighting for justice for the people of Armenia and Artsakh.”

The Armenian Youth Federation of Australia sincerely thanked the following organisations for accepting their invitation and taking part in the virtual meeting to learn about Artsakh.

Assyrian Students' Association of Australian
Assyrian Students' Association UNSW
Assyrian Students' Association USYD
Assyrian Students' Association ACU
Assyrian Cultural and Social Youth Association
Pontoxeniteas NSW (Pontian Youth Group)
Australian Union of Jewish Students
Egyptian Australian Youth Forum
Coptic Orthodox Christians
Armenian Students Association
Macquarie Armenian Students Association
Sydney University Armenian Society
Armenian General Benevolent Union
Armenian Church Youth Association
AYF-AU Melbourne
AYF-AU Western Sydney
AYF-AU Northern Sydney
Pontian Federation of Australia
Pontian Federation of SA
Youth HEAR (Holocaust Education And Remembrance)

You can follow the AYF-AU’s activism on their social media platforms @ayfaus.