When we started the new series – 100 Questions and Answers – an opportunity to speak directly with and question public figures, we wondered about the public’s reception and the guests’ readiness.

It turns out we didn’t need to wonder. Three events later – with Vartan Oskanian as our first guest, the ARF’s Vahan Hovannisyan as the second guest, and Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Karen Andreasyan as our third guest – we kno w that there is an interest and need all around.

The fourth guest, next week, is Justice Minister Hrair Tovmasyan. The topics are endless and the questions – from the global to the specific – are sure to be interesting. Questions can be posted at www.civilitasfoundation.org ahead of time, and the program can be viewed live online at www.civilitasfoundation.org.

Questions were also interesting in Gyumri, Goris and Kapan last month when Tatul Hakobyan went to introduce the Civilitas Foundation annual report and to lead public discussions about emigration (in the north, in Gyumri, where it’s a daily occurrence) and about the interplay between environmental and economic issues in the south (where mining supports thousands of families, but its unregulated activity harms many and for a long time). Participants in the discussions included local govern ment officials, public interest defenders and students.

The last Civilitas public forum challengingly called “From Ebru to Grandchildren” was both very provocative and very fulfilling. On the occasion of a massive photo exhibition of the works of Turkish photographer Attila Durak, about cultural diversity in Turkey, the Civilitas forum featured anthropologist Ayse Gul Altinay, writer Takuhi Tovmasyan and attorney, writer Fethiye Cetin, who as an adult discovered that she is in fact the granddaughter of a genocide survivor. The long and at times quite emotional exchange (in Armenian and Turkish) can be viewed at www.civilitasfoundation.org

Summer has finally, finally come to Yerevan. With it, we have interns from the Utah State University Huntsman Scholarship program, which Civilitas helps administer, and which gives a dozen young Armenians the opportunity to receive a four-year college education. Together, with other interns from the US and Armenia, they add new perspective to our work.

Summer also brings tourists who visit Civilitas and are inspired by the energy of our super-young (not counting a few of us) and super-committed (that’s all of us!). Recently, a group of graduates of Armenia’s universities had returned with some friends, to remind themselves of the old days, and to embark on some new projects. They also contributed to the Civilitas rural development program. You can read about their involvement, and perhaps consider becoming a donor yourself, by visiting the website of the US-based Civilitas Foundation, a 501c3 organization which aims to support similar activities.

Finally, there’s always new analytical pieces on the website – from Mr. Oskanian’s recent commentary on Armenia’s inflationary pressures, to updates about global developments by Civilitas Honorary Board members, to blogs written by our thoughtful staff.

Happy reading. I hope your summer will be as rewarding as ours.