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ATP Micro-Enterprise Prgm Recognized as Nat'l Winner for Sustainabil

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  • ATP Micro-Enterprise Prgm Recognized as Nat'l Winner for Sustainabil

    ARMENIA TREE PROJECT
    65 Main Street
    Watertown, MA 02472 USA
    Tel: (617) 926-TREE
    Email: [email protected]
    Web: www.armeniatree.org

    PRESS RELEASE
    June 2, 2008

    ATP's Nursery Micro-Enterprise Program Recognized as National Winner of
    Energy Globe Award for Sustainability

    -- Kofi Annan and Mikhail Gorbachev Address Evening Gala Program at European
    Parliament in Brussels

    BRUSSELS, Belgium--The backyard nursery micro-enterprise program being
    implemented by Armenia Tree Project (ATP) was selected as the National
    Winner for Armenia of the Energy Globe Awards, also known as the World Award
    for Sustainability. ATP representatives attended the awards ceremony on May
    26 at the European Parliament in Brussels, where the program was selected
    from among 853 projects from 109 nations.

    During the televised evening gala attended by 1,000 guests in the Plenary
    Hall of the EU Parliament, an honorary Energy Globe Award was presented to
    Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mikhail Gorbachev. EU Parliament President
    Hans-Gert Pottering and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
    presented the award to Mr. Gorbachev for his leadership role as a cofounder
    of Green Cross International.

    The innovative ATP program recognized by the Energy Globe Awards earlier in
    the day is mitigating poverty-driven deforestation by creating
    micro-enterprise tree nurseries in the Getik River Valley of northern
    Armenia. These nurseries are owned by hundreds Armenia's most impoverished
    families, who have doubled their annual income by participating in the
    backyard nursery program.

    "ATP initiated this program as a pilot project with 17 families in 2004, and
    since then it has grown to include 400 families this year who are growing
    reforestation seedlings," stated ATP Deputy Director Jason Sohigian after
    the awards ceremony. "It has always been our goal that some of the
    additional income be invested to reduce reliance on the forests for heating
    and cooking fuel by creating an economy for a natural gas infrastructure in
    these villages."

    "On behalf of our field staff and the creators of this program, we were
    honored to be recognized by the Energy Globe Awards for our contribution to
    sustainable development in this remote rural region of Armenia," added
    Sohigian.

    The afternoon program at the European Parliament included remarks by
    President Mikhail Gorbachev and Maneka Gandhi, chairwoman of the Energy
    Globe Awards jury. The most innovative and sustainable projects from over
    100 countries were recognized, from alternative energy projects in
    Bangladesh, Georgia, Kenya, Nicaragua, Poland, and Sri Lanka, to forestry
    projects in Argentina and Honduras.

    "ATP was extremely proud to be selected for this prestigious award," noted
    ATP Development Officer Paul Yeghiayan who also attended the event. "It has
    been our goal in recent years to reach out and make inroads to the
    development community internationally, so we were pleased to be a part of
    this program. At the same time we are grateful to our many supporters who
    made it possible for ATP to implement this important micro-enterprise
    project in the Getik River Valley."

    The Energy Globe Awards was initiated by Wolfgang Neumann of Austria in
    1999, and he is one of the presidents of the Energy Globe Foundation. Mr.
    Neumann has been involved with energy efficiency projects for 25 years and
    he has developed significant expertise in the field. During the evening
    program, awards went to a Peruvian waste management program, a project
    building wells in Mozambique, a parabolic power plant in Spain which
    produces emission-free energy, and a South African project that raises youth
    awareness of environmental issues. The overall winner was Austrian-based
    Fronius International, which operates zero emissions vehicles with hydrogen
    fuel produced by photovoltaic cells and electrolysis.

    "The award gala in Brussels represents a unique distinction for the winners,
    whose projects target greater environmental protection and sustainability in
    handling our resources, but also serves as an accolade for the Energy Globe,
    which in its nine years has developed to the world's most prominent
    environmental award," read a press release after the event. The television
    gala also included remarks by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and EU
    Council President Janez Jansa, as well as performances by Dionne Warwick,
    Alanis Morissette, and Zucchero.

    For more information about the Energy Globe Awards, visit the web site
    http://www.energyglobe.com/en/

    PHOTO CAPTION: Armenian Ambassador Viguen Tchitetchian (center) with ATP
    Development Officer Paul Yeghiayan and Deputy Director Jason Sohigian
    (right) at the national Energy Globe Awards program at the European
    Parliament in Brussels

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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