Cooperation with Mashtots Publishing House and Regional Development Projects

On November 27,  team of the ARI Literature Foundation and ARI Literary Agency together with the translator and editor Sevak Ghazaryan were hosted in Yeghegnadzor upon the invitation of Archbishop Abraham, the Primate of the Vayots Dzor Diocese.

The aim of the visit was to get acquainted with the teams of translators established in Vayots Dzor to discuss their activities and the cooperation possibilities. On the archbishop’s initiative the translators to/from English, French and German who were willing to try themselves in the field of literary translations have been registered. “Mashtots” publishing house, established on the initiative of the diocese and Syunik-Development NGO organizes the whole process of publication of the translated pieces and provides the translators with numerous opportunities to develop their skills necessary to pursue career goals.   

During the meeting the obstacles and problems encountered during the translation and publishing processes were discussed. Founder and director of ARI Literature Foundation and ARI Literary Agency Arevik Ashkharoyan presented the issues related to the copyrights which are essential to know for every translator. The current situation at the Armenian book market, demand and supply, as well as the necessity to fill the gaps were also discussed. Sevak Ghazaryan who kindly agreed to collaborate with the group of English language translators as an editor, talked about the significance of editing and the cooperation between the translator and editor. Editors for other language groups to work on the translated texts were selected.

At the end of the meeting ARI Literature Foundation handed over manuals on English language teaching and professional development textbooks for teachers as well as books in English for reading, which will be registered at the library of the publishing house for the translators` easy access.  Another set of books was handed to the English learning club for children functioning in the university of Yeghegnadzor. The books were donated to the ARI Literature Foundation by Eileen Adamian from San Francisco who is an English language teacher and regularly transfers books to Armenia as well as organizes trainings for teachers; and by Annette Stepanian, who has raised hundreds of pre-loved English language children’s books to be sent to Armenian. Ms. Adamian took over the responsibility to send a new set of books in the course of 2022 to replenish the library of Mashtots publishing house and to support the training of the translators’ groups.

Afterwards, ARI team was invited to have a tour at the youth camp in the suburbs of Yeghegnadzor, functioning with the support and under the auspices of the Vayots Dzor Diocese. The camp has been functioning for several years already and offers children from bordering villages a number of activities, including self-defense and other professional skills development courses. ARI team had a very interesting talk with the kids, discussed the importance of reading and their future career perspectives.

Team of the ARI Literature Foundation and ARI Literary Agency were highly impressed by the initiative of Archbishop Abraham and the competence of the employees of the Mashtots Publishing House.

ARI Literature Foundation will be working in cooperation with the Mashtots Publishing House and translators’ teams of Vayots Dzor and will support the setting up of libraries in Yeghegnadzor university and camp, as well as implementation of reading promotion projects.