The participants selected for the second stage of the contest to be named in August
4 July 2022, Yerevan. The submission of participation applications for the Master of Armenia contest is closed now. More than 1200 applications have been submitted by master craftspeople representing around 170 cities and towns of Armenia and Artsakh.
Applications have been submitted for participation in all of the 12 fields. To remind, the 12 fields have been defined by an online voting organized on the website of the contest, which was open for casting ballots for one month. Interesting to note, the majority of applications has been received from jewelers, sewers, cooks, furniture makers/carpenters, and auto mechanics.
”I am happy to see the contest raise a big wave of interest. It is fundamental the applications have been submitted from all the regions of Armenia and Artsakh. That’s exactly what we we aimed at – to have the contest reach out to everyone, because unique masters are there in every region and every settlement. People have to know them, and we have to be able to preserve that very specific heritage of ours. The purpose of the contest is to encourage the masters, so that they feel they are valued and stick to their crafts and pass on their skills to younger generation. Prosperity of a country, the family and the community alike, starts with genuine love for one’s calling,” says Ruben Vardanyan, initiator of the contest and the Founder of the TUF Foundation.
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The Selection Committee and the contest’s Organization Committee will consider the applications in July and will name the best candidates – two per each of the 12 fields. The 24 selected candidates will participate in the second stage of the contest.
The Selection Committee members are: Arsen Mnatsakanyan, Co-Founder and Director of Varpet.com platform, Boris Kharatyan, Deputy Chairman of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia, David Babakhanyan, CEO of Armenia TV, Sedrak Mamulyan, Director of “Sedrak Mamulyan” Culinary studio, and Yelena Martirosyan, Deputy Director of the “French-Armenian Professional Education Center Foundation”.
Completed personal questionnaires and video messages prepared by participants sharing about their professional careers will be evaluated at selection. The members of the committee will pay particular attention to the portfolio of the participants, the complexity/professionalism of creations, as well as the commitment and the extent to which a person strives to become a winner.
12 consultants are expected to join the contest (1 from each field) to prepare the further assignments for the participants and to land a helping hand to the participants in completing the tasks.
The second stage of the contest is planned in coming autumn as a show on Armenia TV channel, where the 12 winners, one per each field, among the 24 participants will be named. The shootings of the TV show will start in August.
The winners of the contest will be awarded with the Master of Armenia Prize, will get monetary reward (in 3 million AMD), and will be offered support by the partners of the competition.
The contest is initiated by social entrepreneur Ruben Vardanyan and the “TО LIVE” Foundation. The organizer of the contest is the Tourism and Urbanism Charitable Foundation. The partner of the contest is Armenia TV Company.
The purpose of the contest is the preservation and the popularization of crafts as a vocation, restoration of the public revere and esteem towards working people.
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About Tourism and Urbanism (TUF) Charitable Foundation
In July 2020 the Tourism and Urbanism (TUF) Charitable Foundation undertook the projects by the IDeA Foundation targeted at the tourism and urbanism development in Gyumri, Dilijan, Tatev, Artsakh, and Yerevan. The Foundation develops innovative projects in tourism and urbanism, promotes sustainable regional development and positions Armenia on the world map as a competive tourism destination. Philanthropist and social entrepreneur Ruben Vardanyan is the Founder of the Tourism and Urbanism (TUF) Charitable Foundation.
