On May 29th, the Armenian-French trilateral cooperation agreement signing ceremony took place between the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, Camp des Milles Foundation and Bouches-du-Rhône Departmental Council at the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.

The French delegation headed by Mrs. Martine Vassal, the Chairman of Bouches-du-Rhône Departmental Council, the President of Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis visited Armenian Genocide Memorial in early morning. The delegation was accompanied by Grisha Tamrazyan, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of RA, Jonathan Lacote, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Armenia, as well as Harutyun Marutyan, Director of Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.

Cyprien Fonvielle, the Director of the Camp des Milles Foundation, French politicians, government officials, journalists, business representatives, members of Armenian community in France, students of French school in Yerevan were among the members of the French delegation.

The guests first visited the Memory Alley, where Mrs. Vassal watered the fir she had planted back in 2016, than they visited the Genocide Monument, laid flowers at the eternal fire and honored the memory of the innocent martyrs with a minute of silence. A wreath was also laid at the Monument on behalf of the French delegation.

Grisha Tamrazyan, the Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Harutyun Marutyan and Martine Vassal got acquainted with the French school students, thanked them for participating and took photos on the background of Mount Ararat.

Later the agreement signing ceremony took place at AGMI Conference Hall. Welcome speech was delivered by AGMI Director, than speeches were made by Chairman of Bouches-du-Rhône Departmental Council and Director of the Camp des Milles Foundation. The parties stressed the importance of the event and the signing of the agreement, presented the main mission of their institutions and crossing points of the cooperation.

According to the contract, within two years, the transfer of exhibits and exhibitions should take place between the parties. Camp des Milles Museum-Fund will be replenished with materials on the Armenian Genocide, “We attach great importance to this cooperation agreement. It is unique in the sense that it gives possibility to expand the section dedicated to the Armenian Genocide in the permanent exhibition of a museum established on the grounds of a former internment camp. And not of less importance are the topics of very actual interest; resistance during the Genocide, Cultural Genocide, children of Genocide years. The methods for interactive information transmission are also of a great importance and offer new terms of cooperation.

About 100,000 Armenians live in Marseilles Region and the majority of them are descendants of Genocide survivors. One of the points of the cooperation agreement envisages providing information on the “biographies” of the Armenians living over there, which is also essencial for the AGMI’s long-term program for the implementation of the “Armenian Genocide victims and survivors' database.” The agreement has an educational segment involving high school students. It will last for two years, but we hope that after a while we will be able to prolong the agreement by looking for new terms of cooperation”,- said Harutyun Marutyan.

Mrs. Vassal extended her thanks to the AGMI Director for organizing the event. Mrs. Marutyan gifted to the guests some of AGMI publications and other volumes on Armenian Genocide and Armenian History, as well as souvenirs depicting the scenes of salvation of Armenians from Musa Dagh, which is considered to be the basis of Armenian-French history and friendship. The unique souvenirs are made of handmade paper from the flowers laid at the eternal fire on April 24.

The French side, in its turn, handed souvenirs to Mr. Marutyan.

At the end of the ceremony the guests visited the Genocide Museum and got acquainted with the temporary and permanent exhibitions. At the end of the visit Mr. Fonvielle left a note in the Memory Book of Honorable Guests.