On October 28, more than fifty people gathered at the Maison de la Culture Arménienne (MCA) in Issy-les-Moulineaux, outside Paris, to kick off the newly formed Hauts-de-Seine Chapter of the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society.
Dikran Karaoglanian, director of the MCA and a charter member of the chapter, welcomed the guests. A video about Hamazkayin’s activities was then shown.
The speakers were Sella Tenjoukian, a member of Hamazkayin’s Central Executive Board; Hasmig Chahinian, a charter member of the chapter; and Hourig Baghdassarian, president of the Hamazkayin in France.
Students and alumni of the local École Hamaskaïne-Tarkmantchatz performed a skit based on the fairy tales of Hovhannes Tumanian.
A Hauts-de-Seine Chapter of Hamazkayin had been formed in the 1930s and had operated through the fifties. The guests had a chance to study mementos from the old chapter’s activities, displayed on tables.
The program was followed by a reception.