SYDNEY: The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) has announced that its 2021 Annual Gala will be held  slightly belatedly due to lockdown laws imposed by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, on Saturday 19th February 2022 at the iconic Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney.

“The ANC-AU Annual Gala is an opportunity for our organisation to report on our collective achievements over the preceding year,” said ANC-AU Executive Administrator, Sarine Soghomonian.

“It is also an opportunity for the Armenian-Australian community to show their appreciation for the efforts of prominent people promoting Armenian issues in Australian public life.”

This celebratory evening will host honourees from Australian public life and will involve an array of entertainment acts.

The distinguished Armenian National Committee Freedom Award will be presented – with past recipients from around the world including former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, Film Director Terry George, German politician Cem Ozdemir, Australian Parliamentarian Joe Hockey, John Alexander, Armenian Studies pioneer Professor Richard Hovanissian, The Uniting Church in Australia, Grammy Award-winner Serj Tankian and New York Times Bestselling author Chris Bohjalian, among others.

On the night, the recipient of the prestigious ANC-AU Armenian-Australian Community’s Friend of the Year award will also be revealed. Past recipients of this honour include Paul Fletcher, Joel Fitzgibbon, Tim Wilson, Trent Zimmerman, Hugh McDermott, Bob Carr, John Alexander, Joe Hockey, Phillip Adams, Jonathan O’Dea, Walt Secord, Michael Atkinson, Professor Colin Tatz among others.

Two years ago, the ANC-AU introduced the Ben Bagdikian Media Award – recognising those in media who have had the most significant impact raising awareness concerning matters important to Armenian-Australians. Awarded to Alan Jones in 2019, who was Australia's highest-rating radio broadcaster, and James Robins in 2020, a New Zealand-based journalist. We are excited to reveal this year's recipient!

ANC-AU has announced the Annual Gala will be a COVID-19 safe event.

“The Museum of Contemporary Art has more limited seating available than usual, therefore to secure your spot, contact one of the committee members on the flyer,” Soghomonian added.