Artur Hakobyan (23)

Artur comes from Yegenadzor in north Armenia. He has a bachelor in law and he has been a volunteer in the Red Cross for eight years. He likes drawing, singing and sports. And he really likes the old Norwegians building, which makes him curious about the history.

Being a volunteer at the Red Cross Artur has been involved in the following activities and responsibilities:
-Trainer at the hiv/aids program
-First aid trainer
-Youth responsible
-Coordinator at the emergency department What are you going to miss most, and what will be your biggest challenge? -I already miss my girlfriend, my family and my language, and I think the Norwegian language will be my biggest challenge since I can’t speak my own language here, he says . Why did you join the programme and what are your expectations? Artur says that he’s quite excited to start working with the youth and he's already started writing a childrens book about the international humanitarian law with lots of drawings. -I joined the programme just because I love the Red Cross and it’s an opportunity to introduce my country, my culture and my language..., he says.

Artur is going to spend his next nine month in Kristiansand working with the Red Cross youth, best luck for him.

Emma Khachatryan (22)

Emma has been a volunteer for the Armenian Red Cross since she was 13. For 9 months, she will use her vast experience, working as a youth delegate in Vest-Agder Red Cross in Kristiansand.

Hailing from Yerevan in Armenia, the Linguistics and pedagogy graduate who also loves dancing and doing media work has volunteered for her Armenia Red Cross Youth department for 8 years and whilst there, she came to know of the youth delegate programme.

- I cannot begin to recount all the activities that I have been involved in, as they are very many, but I began as a translator, she says. However, before coming to Norway she worked as a programme co-ordinator within the Youth department. She is also currently a member of the Red Cross Youth European Co-ordination Committee (ECC).

Expectations for the Youth delegate programme

Emma has quite a few expectations while in Norway.

-I hope to help in volunteer recruitment and retention, disseminate International Humanitarian Law (IHL) whilst also developing new skills and gaining experiences to take with me back to Armenia, she says.

-Norway has a lot of smart youth who need that extra pull to volunteer for the Red Cross and I hope to motivate them, especially as a youth delegate from a different national society, adds the ever smiling Emma.

Amongst the challenges that she foresees during her stay in Norway is having to work for a foreign Red Cross national society, in addition to learning a new language and learning to ride a bike. She says that what she’ll miss most are her friends and also hanging out at her favourite clubs in Yerevan.

-We have the capacity to have a positive impact within our communities. More youth should thus offer themselves as volunteers and also have the courage to face differences, she says. Emma also advises more youth to apply for the youth delegate programme as it gives them a chance to experience new cultures and also shakes their worldview.

Her kan du lese artikler skrevet av Emma og Arthur

Holiday for All

Destination- Ungdomsskole, subject: Armenia

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