UNESCO events marking Hrachia Acharian’s 150th birth anniversary and centenary of Republic Square conclude in Paris

A joint concert by the “Hover” State Chamber Choir of Armenia and the Vahagn Hayrapetyan Trio at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris marked the conclusion of a series of events dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of Hrachia Acharian and the 100th anniversary of the launch of construction of Republic Square in Yerevan, included in UNESCO’s 2026–2027 calendar of anniversaries and significant events.

The commemorative events are dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia.

According to the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia, the concert featured jazz arrangements of folk songs, presenting the rich heritage of Armenian folk music through contemporary musical interpretations.

Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Tigran Virabyan attended the event and delivered welcoming remarks. He expressed gratitude for the inclusion of the anniversaries in UNESCO’s calendar, emphasizing that this testifies to the universal value and significance of Armenian cultural heritage.

“The life and scholarly legacy of the great Hrachia Acharian are among the foundations of Armenian identity. He was not simply a scholar, but a devoted servant of the Armenian letter and word, an architect of the Armenian spoken and written language. If Acharian built the temple of our language and thought, then Alexander Tamanyan and the Armenian architects of his time embodied our dream in stone. Republic Square has become an unbreakable symbol of the unity, rebirth, independence and statehood of the Armenian people, a crossroads of the Armenian soul and its dream carved in stone.”

Virabyan emphasized that the closing concert brought together different layers of Armenian cultural heritage—language, folklore, architecture and musical traditions—once again reminding everyone that the Armenian people are a people of creation and creativity, and that Armenian culture has its unique place in the tapestry of world culture.

Welcoming remarks were also delivered by UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture Nayef Al-Fayez and Armenia’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO, Ambassador Aram Hakobyan.

The commemorative events were organized by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia and UNESCO. As part of the program, a photography exhibition titled “The Square and Time: From Past to Future” was opened and will run through November 2. Around 40 photographs documenting the history of Republic Square were selected from archival collections of the National Archives of Armenia, the History Museum of Armenia, the Chamber of Architects of Armenia, Armenpress news agency and individual photographers.

The Teryan Cultural Center presented an exhibition of Armenian traditional costumes, whose ornaments were paired with the patterns of Republic Square.

A scientific conference titled “Life as Science: Hrachia Acharian” was also held as part of the commemorative events, marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of the renowned Armenian scholar, linguist and academician.

The conference focused on assessing Acharian’s scholarly legacy and his significant contribution to the development of Armenian linguistics.