|
|
|
Fund for Armenian Relief
Media Release
|
|
|
|
Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR)
Press Office
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 889-5150; Fax: (212) 889-4849
email: press@farusa.org
web: www.farusa.org
blog: farusa.wordpress.com
_________________________
To download our pictures in high res, please click "Download Pictures", browse our gallery, click your selection, and mouse over the preview to locate and click the "Save Photo" button.
|
Honoring the Strength and Vision Behind One of FAR's Most Influential Programs
On September 23 some of the most prominent members of the Armenian-American community gathered in New York City to recognize and celebrate the impact of the Armenian National Science and Education Fund (ANSEF), a program that is changing the face and the future of Armenia by giving opportunity to its most valuable resource - its people. The evening also honored Armen Avanessians, an Armenian-American of outstanding caliber whose vision and dedication have helped this program to thrive.
ANSEF, which is run through the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), helps the Armenian intellectual community to grow in the area of science and the humanities by awarding scientists and engineers with yearlong research grants. The grants not only allow these scientists to stay in their own country to pursue research, but they also allow them to be at the cutting edge of their field and inspire their countrymen.
For Mr. Avanessians, ANSEF is not only helping these individuals achieve their career goals, it is the key to the success of a nation. ANSEF provides a way for scientists and scholars to flourish, and as a result their findings will guide their nation toward greater prosperity and success.
Mr. Avanessians is a truly notable Armenian-American in his own right. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University educated engineer, he is now a partner at Goldman Sachs. His generous personal donations have been the backbone of the ANSEF program. In 2008, he fully funded the ANSEF program and his most recent donation of $100,000 enabled FAR to award 25 grants in 2009. Because of his generosity the grants were renamed the "2009 Armen Avanessians ANSEF Awards."
Mr. Avanessians worked as a technical staff member at Bell Laboratories for a short time after graduating from Columbia with his master's degree in 1983. He then joined Goldman Sachs as a foreign exchange strategist, later became vice president, then a partner in 1994. Now, he is director of the firm's Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Strategies, Equity Strategies, Investment Banking and Finance Group Strategies, and GSAM Strategies.
Throughout his career, he has always remained committed to education. He is a trustee of Columbia University and he sits on the Engineering Councils of Columbia and MIT. When Mr. Avanessians first learned about ANSEF, he knew such an effort would fit perfectly with his commitment to this cause.
"Education is the key to the future. It is young people, the junior scientists who serve on these research groups funded by ANSEF, who will make tomorrow's vital discoveries," he said.
Mr. Avanessians has always believed strongly that with opportunity for education, Armenians will not only be able to improve their own lives, but also their nation. The discoveries they make through their own opportunities also enrich an entire community through learning and knowledge. Continuing to strengthen those opportunities through ANSEF is something Mr. Avanessians and others believe is the duty of Armenians around the world.
Cornell University Astrophysicist Yervant Terzian, who spearheads the selection of grantees, paid tribute to Mr. Avanessians during the celebration. He also said ANSEF is a key to giving Armenia a brighter future.
"There is nothing more important for our happy future than education. A peaceful, prosperous, and safe future depends on an educated public and an educated workforce, and today a very major part of this education has to do with science and technology," he said.
Dr. Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York and one of ANSEF founders, pointed out the importance of education in his speech. "An investment in education is requisite to secure Armenia's place in the global economy," Mr. Gregorian said.
Just over 200 grants have been awarded since ANSEF's inception in 2001. Awardees are selected through a blind, peer-reviewed process that bucks the former Soviet system when people were rewarded based on their connections. Through the yearlong grants, recipients are allowed to pursue the research project of their choice. The broad range of research topics includes investigations of solar energy, biochemistry, the control of tuberculosis and breast cancer, and the historical monuments of Northern Artsakh.
For Mr. Avanessians ANSEF is an investment, one in which every gift from donors will impact and bring about a prosperous return that future generations of Armenians will reap the benefit of. He believes in this program because it doesn't offer a handout. Instead, ANSEF gives Armenians the tools they need to tackle new problems and challenges to push their country forward, maintain a place on the international stage, and succeed. Support from the international community - no matter how small - enables this to happen.
"Armenia still needs the support of the Diaspora. They need our encouragement and to know that people out here care about their future," Mr. Avanessians said. "They can build up their country themselves. They have the brainpower and the knowledge. They just need a slight boost to compete in this challenging global economy."
# # #
|
About FAR
Since its founding in response to the 1988 earthquake, FAR has served hundreds of thousands of people through more than 220 relief and development programs in Armenia and Karabagh. It has channeled more than $265 million in humanitarian assistance by implementing a wide range of projects including emergency relief, construction, education, medical aid, and economic development.
|
|
For more information on FAR or to send donations, contact us at 630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016; telephone (212) 889-5150; fax (212) 889-4849; http://farusa.org; e-mail press@farusa.org.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
