Participants of the AYF Western US Regional Convention at AYF Camp
LOS ANGELES—The Armenian Youth Federation – Western United States (AYF-WUS) held its 43rd Annual Convention on the weekend of September 9 at AYF Camp. More than 60 delegates from 13 AYF chapters were present at the Annual Convention, the highest legislative body of the organization.
Invited guests present at Convention included AYF Alumni, representatives from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau, ARF Central Committee, ARF, AYF Juniors Central Council, AYF Camp Management Board, and AYF Eastern United States.
The organization evaluated the previous fiscal year and set the vision, objectives, and budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year.
Topics included the activities of the outgoing Central Executive; the performance of local chapters in relation to their goals and expectations; and the success of AYF initiatives and programs, both locally and in the homeland, particularly With Our Soldiers, Youth Corps, and Divest Turkey.
Some of the Convention’s goals and expectations for the coming year include: escalating the campaign for genocide reparations; refining the educational quality of Youth Corps and increasing participant development; spreading the divestment movement to remove university investments in the Turkish government; coalition-building with local communities and organizations; strengthening ties with the Homeland; supporting the youth and their nonviolent struggle to make Armenia and its economy more democratic; continuing to find innovative ways to better the Armenian community in the long-term.
The future of Artsakh was also a main point of focus during the convention, as delegates discussed the importance of supporting it in its fight for international recognition. The convention decided to institutionalize With Our Soldiers, a program that was relaunched in April to provide financial assistance to the families of fallen soldiers in Armenia and Artsakh. Delegates also discussed the potential of upcoming projects in Artsakh, which ranged from establishing an internship in Stepanakert to renovating a medical center in Shushi.
The Convention concluded with the election of the organization’s new Central Executive, whose function is to govern the administrative and organizational aspects of the AYF. The Convention opted for a seven-person body consisting of Puzant Berberian, Arev Hovsepian, Razmig Maadanian, Rafi Orphali, Garo Sarkisian, Razmig Sarkissian, and Kareen Shatikian.
Founded in 1933, the Armenian Youth Federation is the largest and the most influential Armenian- American youth organization in the United States, working to advance the social, political, education and cultural awareness among Armenian-American youth.
Upon conclusion of convention, the newly elected Central Executive decided to release the following text as an official statement of the AYF Western United States. It can be found in the Summer 2016 edition of Haytoug which is being released this week:
As we see the collapse of the modern Turkish state built by “The Father of All Turksâ€
