French Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Olivier Decottignies visits YSU

The essay competition under the title "If All the Young People of the World..." was organized through the joint efforts of the French charitable organization "SPFA" and the YSU Faculty of International Relations, sponsored by "Nouvelles de Flandre" magazine, the "Richelieu International Europe" organization and the French charitable organization "SPFA". 

Tigran Yepremyan, Dean of the YSU Faculty of International Relations, emphasized the significance of the ambassador's visit to YSU, as well as the friendly relations between the two countries and their mutual understanding of each other's culture and language, and noted that French is the language of science, diplomacy, philosophy, the "mother tongue" of Europe, therefore, the comprehensive study of French is important and necessary. 

"We have friendly relations with France․ French culture, the French are very close to our hearts. Armenian-French cooperative ties have been strong since the period of Cilician Armenia," emphasized the dean of the faculty.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Armenia, Olivier Decottignies, delivered a lecture titled "Modern French-Armenian Relations and Their Prospects". Reflecting on the centuries-old history of Armenian-French relations, the ambassador noted that Armenia is a friendly country that France has always supported and continues to support in various issues. The ambassador presented the current state of relations between the two countries and the expanding areas of cooperation. 

It should be noted that Alexander Margarov, Head of the International Cooperation Office, interested students and professors were present at the meeting.

The lecture ended with a question-and-answer session, during which students asked the speaker questions about international cooperation, regional issues and responsibilities, duties, and powers of ambassadors. 

Cooperation between the YSU and the "SPFA" organization spans over decades marked by events, discussions and meetings organized for students to enrich their knowledge of French and to explore French culture and the country.

A national essay competition has been organized for several years, in which YSU students also participate.

"The essay competition is more interesting since the participants are more free and there are no constraints. The sponsors highly appreciate the work of the participants, taking into account both the essays' ideas and students’ high language proficiency," pointed out Varduhi Petrosyan, the organizer of the competition, YSU Lecturer, Candidate of Philological Sciences and Associate Professor. 

"French in My Daily Life", "That Precious Word: Peace" and "If All the Young People of the World..." are the titles of essay competitions in recent years. YSU students always took top positions in these competitions.

Varduhi Petrosyan singled out the results of the "That Precious Word: Peace" competition, where YSU students took all three prize places. In 2022, their essays were published in the Belgian magazine "Nouvelles de Flandre".

This time, two of the winners of the essay competition under the title "If All the Young People of the World..." were YSU students and one was a student from High School № 1 Named After Aksel Bakunts in Goris.

Nare Harutyunyan, a first-year undergraduate student at the YSU Faculty of International Relations, winner of the first class prize, said that participating in the essay competition was a good opportunity to express oneself and share one's inner thoughts and feelings with people.

"Maybe this is a little success, but I value it very much since this victory is a motivating force to progress further, improve French skills and strive for greater accomplishments," said Nare. 

The first-class prize-winning essay creates an imaginary world that takes the reader on a short journey, allowing them to "visit" the hearts of people and understand their desires and aspirations. The essay's main message is symbolized by a monument erected "to win the war", visible from every corner of the world.

An excerpt from Nare's essay can be found here.