**2013-10-30 — “Armenia and Artsakh Are Mine”**

**2013-10-30 — “Armenia and Artsakh Are Mine”**

From October 27 to 30, 2013, as part of the “Artsakh Liberation Struggle – 25” program organized by the “Ընտանիք” Children and Youth Creative Center of Gyumri, students from Gyumri State Vocational School No. 4, Ashotzk Secondary School, and the Center, under the leadership of Director Arthur Minasyan, made an educational visit to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

The purpose of the visit was to instill the ideas of unity and cooperation among teenagers from the two republics, strengthen the students’ military-patriotic education, and familiarize them with Artsakh’s cultural and historical heritage, way of life, traditions, and customs.

Their Artsakh peers welcomed the students from Shirak Province with bread and salt at the Gandzasar Monastery Complex, where they spent four unforgettable days together. Father Grigor, the priest of Gandzasar, told the students about the history of the Gandzasar Monastery and showed them the damage the monastery had sustained during the Artsakh war.

The following day, the students of the Center presented a concert program at the Vank Village Secondary School. They also organized an exhibition of handmade works for the village residents.

Particularly impressive was the meeting with David Hakobyan, a participant in the Artsakh war and a first-degree disabled veteran. Moving the audience, David recounted how, at the age of fourteen, he took up arms together with his twelve-year-old friends and fought for the independence of his homeland.

As part of the program, the students also met with Ashot Ghulyan, Speaker of the National Assembly. The conversation was informal, educational, and inspiring.

During the four-day visit, the students visited museums, the Stepanakert Children’s and Youth Art School, and other historical sites. The Tigranakert Fortress, with its imposing strength, and the symbol of Artsakh, the “We Are Our Mountains” monument, with its majestic presence, evoked a powerful sense of strength and endurance.

The visit to a military unit was also impressive, where the students became acquainted with the daily life of servicemen, different types of weapons, and combat tanks.

The final evening was symbolic: around the campfire, the children joined hands in a traditional Armenian circle dance, and their eyes reflected love, pride, strength, and unity.

The visit concluded at the St. Ghazanchetsots Church in Shushi. The farewell was emotional. Hidden tears of parting could be seen in everyone’s eyes—tears that were both inspiring a sense of responsibility and filled with hope.

Each young participant carried within them an unshakable determination to fight together for independence and to stand up for their own country.

The implementation of the program was supported by Arevik Petrosyan and Margarita Taranyan, Members of the Artsakh National Assembly, as well as the Women’s Council of the Republican Party of Armenia in Shirak Province, represented by Lolya Khachatryan and Qnarik Aharonyan.

M. Torosyan