Under the auspices of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I and organized by the Armenian Church Students’ Association (ACUSA), more than 80 participants from different Lebanese Armenian youth and student associations gathered in Bikfaya on July 30th, for a dialogue entitled “The Armenian Diaspora Youth: Today and Tomorrow” and organized on the occasion of the Year of the Armenian Diaspora.

Garen Yosulkanian, a member of ACUSA, welcomed the participants and delivered the opening remarks. Subsequently, three consecutive sessions were held to discuss the question of being Armenian in the diaspora today through the following themes: the Armenian Cause; Armenian culture and values; and Armenian youth and innovation.

The first session was conducted by Dr. Nora Bayrakdarian, who presented the lawsuit for the return of the Catholicosate’s historical seat in Sis, and Yeghig Tashjian, facilitated by Garen Yosulkanian. The second session was conducted by Kayane Madzounian and Shaghig Hudaverdian, facilitated by Krisd Khroyan. The third session was conducted by Hrag Avedian and Patil Yessayan, facilitated by Araz Kojayan.

During the second phase of the gathering , the participants divided into groups and discussed the topics that were offered, summarized their thoughts and presented potential action plans to the plenary.