YEREVAN: The Member of Australia’s largest Armenian-populated Federal electorate of Bennelong, Mr. John Alexander has discussed steps to bring Armenia’s chess-in-schools initiative to Australia in a meeting with Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Education Ms. Arevik Anapiosyan in Yerevan.
Mr. Alexander and Ms. Anapiosyan discussed how Armenia had managed to work chess into their school curriculum, and committed to try and take steps to replicate this in Australia beginning with inter-school tournaments in his electorate of Bennelong.
Ms. Anapiosyan explained the process to Mr. Alexander, and provided materials which the former tennis champion will return to Australia for review and implementation.
Mr. Alexander also dined with former Australian chess champion Ms. Arianne Caoili – wife of Armenian chess grandmaster Mr. Levon Aronian – to discuss tangible steps to begin his initiative from Bennelong.
“Mr. Alexander has always been fascinated by Armenia’s ability to produce chess champions, recognising the requisite benefits of chess to brain development and increase in problem solving capabilities,” commented Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) Executive Director, Haig Kayserian.
“His meetings with Ms. Anapiosyan and Ms. Caoili crystallised the steps Mr. Alexander was able to outline in order to begin this process in partnership with the Armenian-Australian community upon his return to Sydney.”
Mr. Alexander was in Armenia as part of the first Federal-led Australian Delegation to Armenia, organised by ANC-AU, which included another two Federal Australian parliamentarians – Mr. Tim Wilson MP and Mr. Trent Zimmerman MP, one State parliamentarian from New South Wales – Dr. Hugh McDermott MP, and five Armenian-Australian business leaders.
