In the 1950s, general assemblies of delegates from all of the AYA’s chapters became more frequent; they were a sign of its leaders’ desire to reinforce the organization’s cohesiveness and internal structure. The first General Assembly was convened in Beirut in March 1937. Subsequent assemblies took place at rather widely spaced intervals: in November 1945, April 1950, and April 1954. In 1956, the AYA’s Central Board, which was to play a crucial role in reorganizing the association, comprised the following individuals: Avedis Manukian, Dr. Yervant Markarian, Garbis Nazarian, Hrach Setrakian, Harutiun Kazanjian, Jirair Boyajian (Syria), Alexan Pyuzantian (Syria), Khacher Kalusdian, and Kurken Yalnezian.24
The dynamism of the AYA’s Syrian and Lebanese chapters in this period led to both a considerable increase in the association’s membership and an expansion of its fields of activity. With support from local AGBU chapters, the AYA leadership launched an ambitious program for the construction of athletic and cultural centers. Thus its Lebanese chapter bought a 48,000 square-foot lot in Sin el-Fil, near Beirut, for 100,000 Lebanese pounds in 1957. Half of the money came from the AGBU’s Central Board in New York.25 In March 1959, in Beirut’s municipal stadium, the AYA staged its “Olympic Games,” known as the Navasartian Games.26 It had organized two such “Olympics” earlier, but the 1959 event stood apart from its predecessors by virtue of its size and cost, marking a turning-point in the association’s history.Inaugurated before fifteen thousand spectators, the games brought together more than fifteen hundred athletes representing the ... Read all
The Armenian Youth Association
The Navasartian Games, held in Beirut in 1961 in commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of the AYA (AYA arch./ Beirut).
The fourth General Assembly of the AYA in Aleppo, 1954 (AYA arch./ Beirut).
The 1961 Navasartian Games in Beirut (AYA arch./ Beirut).