YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS. “Step Towards Home” program of the Office of High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of Armenia this year will have 400 participants from different communities of the Diaspora.

Hayk Yengibaryan, head of the program implementation department at the Office of High Commissioner, stated that the project will be implemented at four stages, and they will accept 100 participants at each stage.

“In the past the number of participants at each stage was more than 100, however, this time we have set this number conditioned by the pandemic. The participant arriving in Armenia must have a negative COVID-19 test from the past 72 hours. Everything will be done for maintaining all the safety rules connected with COVID-19, the children will have hand-sanitizers and face masks”, he said.

The participation to the program has already been announced, the application process has started. But before this the Office of the High Commissioner tried to check the moods within the Diaspora-Armenians related to the project. Hayk Yengibaryan noted that the moods they saw among the Diaspora-Armenians served a base for holding the project this year. Last year it was held online due to COVID-19.

“There was a high demand for the project because Diaspora-Armenians wanted to have an opportunity to come to Armenia on the sidelines of this program. I would like to note that there are interests from Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, the Netherlands, even Brazil, USA”, he added.

“Step Towards Home” will launch on June 21 and will last until August 14.

Diaspora-Armenians aged 13-18 can take part in the program.

Yengibaryan stated that interesting program is waiting for the participants. There will be a 14-day camping program, a cognitive visit to Armenia’s historical-cultural sites, museums, educational facilities and rural communities. Meetings will be held with state, public, cultural and art figures. Sport and cultural events are also planned.

All expenses during these 14 days will be covered by the Government of Armenia.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan