Damian Green MP travels to Yerevan with Trust Director Brian Brivati
On 15th September 2008, Damian Green MP travelled to the Armenian capital Yerevan with the Trust’s Director Brian Brivati. Damian, who is a Trustee and Deputy Chairman of the JSMT, is the Conservative MP for Ashford and the Shadow Minister for Immigration.
The purpose of the visit was threefold – to announce the opening of recruitment in order to encourage talented young leaders to apply for the 2009 John Smith Fellowship Programme; to launch the Fellows’ run organisation called the Institute of Values; and to visit Fellows at their current work places and projects.
Organised by our John Smith Fellows and by the British Council, the visit was a success in reaching potential applicants for the 2009 Programme and raising awareness about the Trust and its work.
Damian Green MP (left) and Brian Brivati (centre) with Ovsanna Yeghoyan (right) at a school in Armavir
On the first day of the visit, Damian and Brian travelled to Armavir (an area outside Yerevan) to meet 2008 Fellow Ovsanna Yeghoyan. Ovsanna is the Head of Operations at the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF), a registered charity which aims to eliminate poverty in rural areas of Armenia. Damian and Brian were able to see first hand the work that Ovsanna is conducting in rural Armenian villages.
The project has re-built schools, medical centres and civic organisations in rural villages. For further information about COAF and their valuable work, please visit the COAF website www.coafkids.org
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The idea of a Fellows’ run organisation, the Institute of Values, was presented during Damian’s visit by Armen Martirosyan, a 2000 John Smith Fellow. This institute is the first of a network of organisations that our alumni will create to provide focus for their own projects. Twenty John Smith Fellows attended the presentation and they will now work together on strengthening the Institute and working on their projects in partnership with the Trust’s office in London.
Damian, who is Shadow Minister for Immigration, also attended meetings with Armenian experts on migration. 2001 Fellow Tevan Poghosyan arranged meetings for Damian with the Head of State Agency on Migration and other key players in this the area. Brian and Damian also met with members of the Heritage Party – the opposition party in Armenia. During the meeting, the Heritage MPs and the visiting British delegation discussed the role of the parliamentary opposition. Brian and Damian spoke in detail about the rights that are reserved for the opposition in the British parliament.
Damian was also welcomed to a meeting of the ‘Wo/Men in Politics’ Project where he spoke to them about his role as a constituency MP.
Damian Green MP gives a talk at the meeting of the ‘Wo/Men in Politics’ Project
Trust Director Brian Brivati gave a public lecture at the National Academy of Sciences, Institute for Oriental Studies, organised by 2006 Fellow Tigran Mkrtchyan. Before joining the Trust, Brian taught contemporary history at Kingston University and ran their human rights programmes at BA and MA level. Brian gave a lecture on the Armenian genocide in a comparative perspective and spoke about the importance of genocide prevention education.
The John Smith Memorial Trust would like to thank the British Council, the British Embassy and our John Smith Fellows for their excellent organisation of the visit and for their valuable support during Damian’s stay.
September 2008