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About Us
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About Us
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- Member Education
- The AYF works to educate its members not only about our history but also about modern day issues faced by our nation both in the Diaspora and in our homeland. The AYF has identified various methods to educate its membership, of which some include the AYF Novice Handbook, which must be read prior to becoming a full fledged member. Other forms of education include lecturers at chapter meetings, Centralized Educational evenings open to all chapters, and Educational Seminars at AYF Camp. The largest form of education for an AYF member is in fact what they learn by being active members of the organization. Organizing social events, cooperating with other organizations to achieve common goals, organizing the various programs of the AYF, assisting the ANCA with their grassroots efforts, and participating in the humanitarian efforts of the Armenian Relief Society, all help AYF members educate themselves through hands-on volunteer work.
- Our Goals: The aims and purpose of the A.Y.F.
- The Armenian Youth Federation - ARF Youth Organization of the Western United States, was founded in order to assist in achieving the following goals:
- The establishment of a Free, Independent, and United Armenia
- Armenia must be a democratic and socialist independent republic.
- The boundaries of United Armenia must incorporate the territories awarded to Armenia by the Treaty of Sevres as well as the regions of Nakhichevan, Akhalkalak, and Karapagh.
- The Armenian people, including its dispersed masses, must assemble on the territory of Independent Armenia.
- The still unpunished crime of the Genocide against the Armenian people must be condemned and redressed by the return of the occupied territories and by the just reparation for losses to the Armenian people.
- basic laws of the Republic of Armenia shall be decided by the constitutional assembly of Armenia elected on the basis of universal, equal, direct, secret, and proportional representation.
These primary goals shall be served by accomplishing the other goals of the Armenian Youth Federation, as
below:
- To guide in the moral, social, and intellectual advancement of Armenian youth in order to gain a better understanding of themselves, To prevent assimilation of Armenian youth by stimulating interest in and promoting political, cultural, educational, athletic, and social activities within the Armenian community.
- INTRODUCTION TO THE AYF
- After the First World War and the injustices the Armenian nation suffered in 1915, the surviving Armenians migrated to other nations in search for peace and opportunity. Many of these Armenians who flocked to the United States joined those who had moved here in the early 1890's. The Armenians in the United States were sure that with the help of the great powers of the world they would soon move back to their homeland, which would be a free, independent, and united Armenia. They encountered many difficulties in the new country. Much like the others who had just entered the United States. To deal with such difficulties and emotional stresses suffered due to the Genocide, the Armenians made their culture the core of Armenian life.
After the treaty of Lozane, which recognized Turkey as an independent nation and which in turn meant that
Western Armenia was no longer in the hands of Armenians, and with the rise of the Bolshevik regime,
Armenians saw that their hope of returning to their nation was now a distant dream. The Armenians in the
United States now saw that they needed organizations to keep the Armenian culture alive.
The ARF Gomidehs in the United States started to create youth groups across the nation. These groups
included the Abrillian Sanner, Hyortiks of New York, Gaidzags, Raffis, and the Arams of Worcester. These
groups were set up on the localized basis but all of them had a unifying goal, which was the belief that
someday Armenia would become a free, independent, and united nation.
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