On 18 July, the students of the 9th stream of the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders, the 1st anti-corruption professional educational initiative operating in the Republic of Armenia, met H.E. Karekin the Second Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. They were accompanied by Karen Zadoyan, President of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association, the founder of the Anti-Corruption School.

In his speech, the ALA President thanked the Catholicos of All Armenians for the reception. Karen Zadoyan presented him with information on the activity and mission of both the Armenian Lawyers’ Association and the Anti-corruption School for Young Leaders. Karen Zadoyan said that the association is engaged in raising the legal awareness of the population, as well as providing free legal services to the socially disadvantaged population. The Armenian Lawyers’ Association also played a major role in the reforms in the judicial and anti-corruption spheres.

The 9th stream of the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders is special in the sense that the component on the pillars of national identity also found its place in the study. According to Karen Zadoyan, this time, while organizing the Anti-Corruption School, the Armenian national cultural and spiritual heritage, personal integrity and self-development were emphasized. According to him, these principles are important for raising a worthy citizen for the state, training professional and personnel bearing integrity values for anti-corruption bodies.

“And in this context, the visit of the students of the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders to the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin is important to get acquainted with the Armenian national cultural and spiritual heritage, as well as to receive the blessing of the Catholicos of All Armenians,” Karen Zadoyan mentioned in her speech.

During their visit to Mother See Holy Etchmiadzin, the students visited the Ruben Sevak Museum. The establishment of the museum is a tribute and homage to Ruben Sevak, Grigor Zohrap, Siamanto, Daniel Varuzhan, Komitas, our other famous persons, one and a half million innocent victims. The personal belongings, documents and manuscripts, charcoal drawings, valuable works of Armenian art, collections of Western Armenian artists are displayed in the museum. It was a special excitement for the audience to see the original paintings of the brilliant Armenian sea painter Hovhannes Aivazovsky, which are kept in the Ruben Sevak Museum.

The participants of the Anti-Corruption School also got acquainted with the treasures of the Armenian Church in the “Khrimyan” museum, which is located in the south-eastern part of the Cathedral. Unique holy relics are presented there. Among the many treasures are Saint Geghard (placed in a silver casket) that pierced Christ’s side, relics of Noah’s Ark (which were placed in a casket in 1698), as well as other valuable pieces of art. In addition to the displayed relics, during the archaeological excavations carried out during the restoration of the Holy Altar, the remains of the Original Altar founded by Saint Gregory the Illuminator were found, dated AD. 301-303.

The students of the Anti-Corruption School had a unique opportunity to visit the Veharan (Patriarchal Residence) and got acquainted with the unique examples of Armenian spiritual life displayed there. The most remarkable and interesting works of art in the museum are the golden cross and the Armenian gold and diamond alphabet. The cross and the alphabet were made by the order of Catholicos Vazgen A., by the hands of jeweler Zhirayr Chuloyan and according to the design of architect Baghdasar Arzumanyan.

In Patriarchal Residence, the visitors also met the Patriarch of All Armenians. Bringing his blessing to the young people, he emphasized that in order to keep people away from sinful and wrong ways, it is important to educate and raise them with national traditions, spiritual and moral values, both in families, and in schools and educational institutions. In this regard, His Holiness urged the students of the school to be guided by the principles of love, kindness, and justice, becoming an example for the youth, to be patriotic and to make consistent efforts to strengthen and build the motherland.

At the end, the Catholicos of All Armenians answered the questions of the students of the Anti-Corruption School, which were related to the security problems of Artsakh and Armenia, the ways to overcome the challenges faced by the Armenian people and the Armenian Church.

Notably, the training in the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders will be organized in the following phases:

1. ONLINE TRAINING PHASE, during which the students will pass a basic anti-corruption course consisting of 25 topics through the school’s online anti-corruption training platform. Those students who have completed all the knowledge test questionnaires and received the appropriate points for completing the online training will be considered completed the online training phase.
2. MASTER CLASS AND PRACTICAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PHASE, during which students who have successfully completed the advanced stage of school will be divided into groups and each group will conduct a study, monitoring or investigation on one of the in-depth anti-corruption topics. During this phase, the work will be organized in the form of group meetings, discussions, and meetings with representatives of the sectors and other relevant bodies and organizations. Attendees will learn a range of innovative tools and gain related skills. At this stage, mentoring for groups is planned.
3. PUBLIC AWARENESS PHASE, during which students who have successfully completed the practical skills development phase of the school will have the opportunity to disseminate their anti-corruption knowledge among young people through public awareness seminars.
4. ADVANCED TRAINING PHASE, during which the best 15-20 participants who have achieved high results in the online training phase of the school, successfully completed the in-depth interview phase and are selected, will participate in the outreach (out of Yerevan) in-depth anti-corruption training. The in-depth training phase of the school will consist of the modules: “Anti-Corruption Advanced Training” and “Pillars of National Identity”.
5. FINAL PHASE, during which the students, who have successfully completed the practical skills development and public awareness stages of the school, will present their research and public awareness results to the reputable jury and the public.

Students who have passed and successfully graduated from all five phases of the School will be awarded GRADUATION CERTIFICATES of Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders.

The Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders was founded by Karen Zadoyan, the President of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association, a member of the Anti-Corruption Policy Council. “The Armenian Lawyers’ Association” NGO is organizing the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders in cooperation with the CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia.

The information partner of the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders is Iravaban.net,  independent professional news website.