YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian addressed a message to the participants of the international scientific conference titled “Hidden Treasures Unearthed: Armenian Arts and Culture of Eastern Europe” which is being held in Los Angeles on November 16-18, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The President said Armenia attaches great importance to the works and events aimed at the preservation, study and presentation of the Armenian cultural heritage across the world.

“The Armenian cultural heritage, especially in the European space, is part of the common values we share together today. This heritage also enriches the identity of the bearers of these values making an individual more developed spiritually, perceptive and ready to listen to and respect others.

Thanks to the experience, skills and knowledge  of living in a multicultural environment, Armenians contributed to the development and progress of their countries of residence, became an indispensable factor of the international trade and commodity exchange, and this factor left a trace in the thinking, psychology and behavior of Armenians, as well as affected Armenia’s political fate.

Today, when Armenia has reaffirmed the independence acquired 100 years ago in a small part of its historical lands, the revelation and study of the civilized past of the Armenian people, the completion of its history receives an importance from the perspective of the formation and future of contemporary Armenian society. I hope it will help us, the contemporary Armenians, inside or outside, to better understand who we are, where we come from and where we move on”, the President said and thanked the organizers, wishing productive work to the conference participants.

The conference has been organized by the Narekatsi Chair in Armenian Studies at UCLA in cooperation with the Paul Getty Museum. The coordinator of the conference is famous expert on Armenian studies Peter Cowe. The conference is attended by specialists of the field from over a dozen countries, including Armenia.