From May 7 through May 10 Armenia participated at the 12th Thessaloniki International Book Fair.

The participation was tribute to the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide and was co-organized by the Ministry of Culture and by the Commission coordinating the Centenary events in Greece. In addition to the publications sent from Armenia the “Arevik” book-store of the Armenian Evangelical Church of Greece and the printing house of Greek-Armenian “Armenika” magazine provided valuable books for the exhibition.

The Armenian stand featured recent publications in Armenian, Greek and foreign languages published both in Armenia and abroad, major part of which was under the theme of the Armenian Genocide.

On May 7, prior to the official opening of the Fair, a poetry event entitled “Verses of Soul, Verses of Armenia” organized by the Thessaloniki branch of the “Hamazgayin” cultural centre took place with the participation of the Armenian youth of Thessaloniki. The performance was staged by the actor of the Thessaloniki municipal theatre Manolis Fountoulis and featured Araqsia Ganapetian, Angel Yeramian, Vigen Dereian, Anahit and Melin Qaraoghlanian, Mari Qyurqchian, Roza Papazian and Tigran Sargsian who presented a brief survey of the Armenian poetry of XIX and XX centuries and recited Greek translations of works by Abovian, Siamanto and Daniel Varujan accompanied by the songs of Komitas.

Ambassador of Armenia to Greece Gagik Ghalatchian, heads and representatives of Greek-Armenian community and religious institutions, as well as numerous Greek and foreign visitors of the Fair were in the attendance.

The Armenian stand attracted the interest of both the visitors of the Book Fair and the representatives of publishing houses. The Armenian poetry event was included in the list of best events of the Fair and was widely covered by the local media.