Ani Garmiryan Joins Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

Garmiryan to Be Responsible for Promotion of Western Armenian

The Armenian Communities Department recently announced the appointment of Ani Garmiryan as senior program officer, responsible for the promotion of Western Armenian—a priority for the department, as highlighted in its recent Five-Year Programming Plan. Garmiryan will be in charge of managing diasporan school grants, the teacher preparation program, and other projects aimed at strengthening the Western Armenian language.

She will join the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation on Sept. 1, bringing with her years of experience working in multilingual education and developing innovative pedagogical approaches. Garmiryan has written and lectured extensively on the subject of language preservation through education, with a particular focus on Western Armenian.

“We are very privileged to have Ms. Garmiryan join us,” said Razmik Panossian, director of the Armenian Communities Department. “Her superb knowledge and experience set her apart from a strong field of candidates and she will undoubtedly be an asset to the department as it continues to support students, teachers, schools, and other organizations to help safeguard a strong Armenian language and culture.”

Martin Essayan, the trustee responsible for the Armenian Communities Department, added, “The appointment is an important step forward for the department in securing the expertise to carry out its mission: to create a viable future for the Armenian people in which its culture and language are preserved and valued.”

Garmiryan was born and raised in Istanbul and has lived in Italy, Germany, England, France, and most recently in the United States. She received a master of arts in linguistics and pedagogy from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, where she also worked as a research assistant in second language acquisition. She earned a master of education in the field of educational leadership from the Bank Street College, New York, known for its progressive educational approach.

She is the founder of MGNIG, an educational bilingual (Armenian-French) workshop in Paris, and has been a lecturer in the methodology of second language acquisition at the University of Paris III since 1994. She officiated at the Hovnanian School in New Jersey since 1997, first as a curriculum coordinator for the Armenian language, and as principal since 2000. She has published numerous articles on bilingual education.