Through Ucom’s Support the 12th Sunchild Festival Concludes

On May 24-28, with the support of Ucom, the 12th international environmental festival Sunchild took place in Yerevan, which this year was held under the theme "Biodiversity: the Pulse of Nature.”

On May 28, the closing ceremony of the festival took place in the hall of the Union of Cinematographers of Armenia, where the winners were revealed across various categories. "This Stolen Country of Mine" directed by Marc Wiese from Germany won John Burton Award: the category of conservationist films category. "Deep Rising" directed by Mattheieu Rytz from the USA won in the category of feature documentary films about biodiversity conservation. "The King of Birds" directed by Daria Razumnikova from Russia, and "The Menace From Above" directed by Mariam Khayat from Saudi Arabia in the category of environmental films by/for children and youth.

With Ucom’s support, a Youth Corner was established for the first time within the framework of the 12th Sunchild international environmental festival. For four days, this exhibition was held for the youth, where they learned about the work and opportunities of 14 leading environmental and educational organizations in the field, as well as 16 workshops were also conducted.

“Sunchild Festival has always been one of my favorite events, and today I am happy to see the birth of the Youth Corner with the support of Ucom, which was very successful and many young people got acquainted with the problems related to the environment, as well as with the activities of organizations that solve these problems. This is extremely important, because there is not a single person in the world who is not affected by the problems of nature,” said Ralph Yirikian, General Director of Ucom.

“The great enthusiasm and interest tells us that the Youth Corner will become a continuous part of the Festival. From the feedback, it became clear that the participants not only gained practical knowledge and skills to lead a more sustainable lifestyle, but also formed friendships,” said Sona Kalantaryan, Director of the Sunchild International Festival.

Around 1,000 young people had the opportunity to learn about the environment and educational initiatives and their opportunities within the framework of the Youth Corner.

In addition to the film screenings, this year it was possible to see a number of thematic exhibitions within the framework of the festival.

The the 12th international environmental festival Sunchild was also supported by the Municipality of Yerevan, the US Forest Service, the Fund for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Values and the Armenian Office of the British Council.