October 14, 2004

Accounting for the Decade:
ACNIS Releases Its New Yearbook

Yerevan—Today the Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS) publicly presented its annual almanac, entitled “Accounting for the Decade,” which was published on the occasion of its tenth-anniversary celebration held last week. The event brought together the yearbook’s participating authors, editorial staff, publisher, and media representatives for the expression of mutual gratitude and the sharing of views and perspectives.

Held in the official reception hall of ACNIS headquarters, the program was opened by founder Raffi K. Hovannisian. “This unique public accounting is a compilation of multi-disciplinary expert thought which embraces the Center’s past track record, its agenda for the future, analytical contributions on the current challenges of foreign and domestic policy as well as the strategic directions of regional security, and applied research and public opinion on political, economic, educational, environmental, and cultural priorities,” he said.

Hovannisian also extended his deep appreciation to the editorial staff and contributors for their diligent work, and paid tribute to Vrej Markosian, director of the Tigran Mets Publishing House, for his generous, timely, and high-caliber publication of the book.

Hrachuhi Palanduzian, editor-in-chief of the new release, presented in a nutshell the short but fruitful history of the book’s creation and thanked her colleagues for their cooperation and professional analysis. “Now that the book has been published I would like to record that it was difficult but pleasant work, since we shared the joy of communication with both our former and current associates as a reflection of the Center’s productive activity over the past ten years,” she noted.

Apart from addressing issues of vital national and international importance, the main characteristic of the yearbook is the variety of themes and genres. “An Initiative Still Underway,” “A Glance at Ourselves and the World,” “A Phase Left Incomplete,” “Said Yesterday, Heard Today,” “The People’s Voice,” and other chapters speak for themselves and outline the framework of the 750-page oeuvre. The book opens with a documentary essay, “In Pursuit of Nation-Building and a New Political Culture,” the provisions of which are crystallized in an ensuing interview with Raffi Hovannisian.

Among the hundreds congratulating ACNIS on its first decade of public service, several are included in the yearbook: His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians; Prime Minister Andranik Margarian; Chief Justice Gagik Haroutiunian of the Constitutional Court; Academicians Fadey Sargsian, Grigor Gurzadian, and Rafael Ghazarian; world-renowned philanthropist and long-time ACNIS supporter Kirk Kerkorian; Carnegie Corporation president Vartan Gregorian; the Ambassadors of the United States, Italy, Greece, and Iran; and scores of other prominent diplomats, scientists, intellectuals, artists, and public figures.

Nearly half of the yearbook’s pages are devoted to policy-oriented articles, in three languages, by General Arkadiy Ter-Tadevosian, analysts Richard Giragosian, Davit Petrosian, Emma Begijanian, Aram Haroutiunian, Alvard Barkhudarian, Sergey Shakariants, Stepan Safarian, and Hovsep Khurshudian, philosopher Manuk Haroutiunian, economist Vrej Jijiyan, legal specialists Hrair Tovmasian and Marat Atovmian, diplomat Ashot Alexanian, young scholars Haik Demoyan and Suren Baghdasarian, and natural emergencies expert Stepan Badalian. The book concludes with a bilingual presentation of ACNIS’s public opinion surveys conducted this year, and a list of the Center’s strategic partners from 1994 to 2004.

ACNIS director of administration Karapet Kalenchian summed up the meeting in saluting the editorial staff composed of Hrachuhi Palanduzian, editor Gevorg Lalayan, graphic designer Gor Grigorian, Noune Aidinian, Lilit Alexanian, and Karine Bayakhchiants. All public participants and invited guests then were offered complimentary copies of “Accounting for the Decade” together with a glass of Armenian sparkling wine.

Founded in 1994 by Armenia’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K. Hovannisian, and supported by the Lincy Foundation and a global network of contributors, ACNIS serves as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy challenges facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet world. It also aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic thinking and a wider understanding of the new global environment. In 2004, the Center focuses primarily on public outreach, civic education, and applied research on critical domestic and foreign policy issues for the state and the nation.

For further information on the Center and its activities, call (37410) 52-87-80 or 27-48-18; fax (37410) 52-48-46; e-mail root@acnis.am or info@acnis.am