News

MELBOURNE: The National Board of Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) has appointed Melbourne local and Armenian community activist Chris Atamian as ANC Australia Melbourne Representative.

In his new role, Atamian will be tasked with increasing the Armenian political presence in Melbourne and throughout the State of Victoria - home to Australia’s second largest Armenian-Australian community estimated at 10,000.

After meeting with ANC Australia Executive Director Varant Meguerditchian to discuss the development of ANC Australia activities in Melbourne and Victoria, Atamian declared that he would immediately set to work.

He said: “Joined by ANC Australia volunteers from Melbourne and with guidance from our colleagues in Sydney, we will begin to voice Armenian-Australian community concerns in media and political circles here in Victoria.”

Commenting on the significant Hellenic-Australian community presence in Melbourne numbering 300,000, Atamian added: “We will also look to expanding our cooperation with Hellenic-Australians specifically to raise awareness of the Armenian and Hellenic Genocides which took place during the final years of WWI in Anatolia.”

Since the establishment of a permanently staffed National office in Sydney, ANC Australia has embarked upon a policy to expand grassroots advocacy activities at the regional level.

Meguerditchian said: “The appointment of Chris Atamian as our regional Representative in Melbourne, Victoria is the first of many regional appointments as we look to expand in order to gain better grassroots activity at the local and state levels and to be more representative of Armenians nationwide.”

“We trust Chris Atamian will immediately begin to build Armenian community support before turning to other community, academic, political and media circles in an effort to build a coalition which can effectively raise Armenian-Australian issues in Victoria.”

The ANC Australia Melbourne Representative Chris Atamian can be reached at the ANC Australia Melbourne office, 8-14 Police Road North Springvale, Victoria 3171 or via email melbourne@anc.org.au.