In 2013, Anna Dolabjian was appointed as the Armenian Virtual College Liaison in Egypt and has acted as an active supporter of the AVC mission since then. Her incredible dedication and efforts were recognized by the College when she was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation, as well as awarded the prestigious title of AVC Ambassador by AVC Founder Dr. Yervant Zorianduring his visit to Egypt in December of 2015.
Anna was born in Yerevan, Armenia to immigrant parents from Egypt. While she grew up in a household that spoke Western Armenian, she lived in a country that spoke Eastern Armenian, and therefore became fluent in both.
Her childhood had her surrounded by incredible stories of Egypt, and as fate would have it, she would later marry an Egyptian-Armenian, and has now been living in the birthplace of her parents for 37 years. She has two daughters and grandchildren. It was there that she began a group called the Association of Brides from Armenia in Egyptto support those who, like her, had a transition to make. The group has reached 30 people and meets yearly.
With her mother being a linguist, Anna studied languages to become a professional in the Russian and English languages. In Egypt she had the desire to excel at even another language, and that was Arabic, “full of wisdom and richness”. Her paternal instincts were strong as well, and she is now a Life Coach, NLP Practitioner, and a Hypnotic Healer, following in the healing footsteps of her late father, Zaven Dolabjian, a renowned Professor of Cardiology and Medical Sciences in Armenia. Herfather was also a writer of poetic short stories “Memoirs of a Doctor” and a deputy in the then Soviet Parliament.
Anna has worked many prestigious jobs, including being the personal assistant of Dr. Edward Nalbandian, the first Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia in Egypt, and later as the Director of University Events in the American University in Cairo. It was nearly 10 years ago that she first heard of AVC, when Dr. Yervant Zorian gave a presentation to the Egyptian-Armenian community in Egypt. Anna states that even then she was fascinated with the potential of AVC in creating a global impact. Her two-sided Armenian identity--that of both a local Armenian and a Diasporan, allowed her to see AVC as an answer to the historic need of Armenians around the world to connect.
AVC made another appearance in Anna’s life when her daughter enrolled in the program in order to refresh her mother tongue. In 2013, Anna and her daughter visited the AVC office in Yerevan to obtain her daughter’s graduation certificate.It was then that the opportunity of becoming the Liaison for Egypt was presented to her by the AVC Partnership Development Office.
With the great support and encouragement from the Chairmanship of AGBU Cairo and Egypt, by September of 2013 AVC was officially launched in Egypt. Anna stated: “It has been a joy working with AVC. Like my community, I have enjoyed every minute of bonding with my homeland and the fulfillment of importing its positive loving energy through AVC to the people around me!”
Anna chose chess as the first subject to introduce, and in September of 2014, with the great help of the AVC Hybrid Department, the Chess Hybrid Program in Egypt was launched, with students ranging from 11 to 65 years old!
The next major initiative for the Egypt branch was the Hybrid Armenian Language Education Program launched in March. According to Anna, “The Program serves as a motivational boost for the many who are thirsty to speak, read, and write in their mother tongue!”
While Anna is specifically working on the AVC presence in Egypt, she sees it as part of a whole, and eloquently defines what AVC can mean to Armenians worldwide: “AVC helps preserve and expand the Armenian identity. It redefines the role of our ancient nation in world history, and highlightsits location on the map of our planet.”
With Anna’s positive, enthusiastic and determined approach, she has clearly become an integral part of the AVC community!
