RA Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan received today the delegation headed by the Head of the National Administration of Public Education of Uruguay Hector Go.

ESCS Deputy Minister Artur Martirosyan, Director of Language Policies of the National Administration of Public Education of Uruguay Aldo Rodriguez, Chairman of the Armenian Branch of the Armenian General Benevolent Union Vasken Yacoubian, Director of the Armenian Noubarian School of Montevideo Javier Pouladian, and board members of the AGBU Council of Uruguay also attended the meeting.

The ESCS Minister welcomed the guests and highlighted the importance of the consistent development and expansion of bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and Uruguay in the fields of education, science, culture, sports and youth policy.

In regard to cooperation, the Chairman of the Armenian Branch of the Armenian General Benevolent Union Vasken Yacoubian noted that the AGBU, in the face of the Uruguayan branch, has initiated the process of teaching Armenian as a foreign language. The initiative is being implemented under the auspices of the Government of Uruguay as part of a strategy to promote foreign language learning. In particular, a textbook on the study of Armenian as a foreign language, which is applicable in non-Armenian schools in Uruguay, has been developed and piloted by the joint efforts of the AGBU and the National Administration of Public Education of Uruguay.

“As you know, there is a large Armenian community in Uruguay, which plays a very important role in the public life of the country. For this reason, learning the Armenian language is also important for the Armenian community of Uruguay and can foster communication between the two countries. The purpose of the publication of the manuals is not only to study the Armenian language but also to present the language as a cultural value to those for whom the Armenian language is not their native language,” said Aldo Rodriguez, Director of Language Policies of the National Administration of Public Education of Uruguay – ANEP, informing that there are two public educational complexes named in honor to Armenia in Uruguay.

According to the guests, Armenian language textbooks contain a lot of materials about Armenian history and culture, so the Armenian language is also presented as a cultural value. According to Aldo Rodriguez, in Uruguay, they are working on the development of projects in the fields of Armenian language and culture, as well as science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

ESCS Minister Zhanna Andreasyan thanked the colleagues of the National Administration of Public Education of Uruguay for their efforts and dedicated work aimed at preserving, disseminating and developing the Armenian language and culture in Uruguay, emphasizing that it is highly appreciated. Touching upon the educational system in Armenia, the Minister also presented the activities of the Language Committee and the National Center for Educational Technologies (NCET), which at this stage of educational reforms perform important functions.

Deputy Minister Artur Martirosyan also welcomed the guests, emphasizing the historically friendly relations between the two countries: “You will hardly meet anyone in Armenia who does not know that Uruguay was the first to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Uruguay is indeed a very important country for us. We also attach importance to the activities of the Armenian Studies Center operating at the University of Uruguay and are confident that the potential of cooperation between the two countries has a great prospect of expansion.”

During the meeting, the possibilities and prospects of cooperation between the education policy-making bodies in Uruguay and Armenia, and issues related to the organization of foreign language teaching in remote areas were also discussed.