About us
Who we are?
Tekeyan Centre was established due to close cooperation between Armenia and the Diaspora and thanks to the efforts of devoted individuals and organizations that were concerned about the prosperity of the Armenian nation. The project is a symbol of unity of Armenians spread all over the world.
A registered charity since 2001, the Tekeyan Centre Fund follows the mission of its founding and board member, the Tekeyan Trust London, to contribute and to serve to the Armenian nation, to preserve and to promote the national heritage through various educational, cultural, sports, social and humanitarian programmes. It also aims at furthering relations between Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora.
News & Events
Every year, on the initiative of the Tekeyan Centre Fund and its founding member, the Tekeyan Trust London, numerous cultural, educational, social and political events, official meetings, forums and many other events are organized in Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora.
Read this section for the latest news about the activities of the Tekeyan Centre Fund as well as other affiliated organizations and partners.
Announcements
Keep up to date with all notifications, messages, advertisements and information about important events of the Tekeyan Centre Fund.
Projects
The Tekeyan Centre Fund carries out cultural, educational and social projects. Both the projects and the beneficiaries of the Fund are selected by the Board of Trustees of the Fund as well as by the Project Implementation Committee, appointed by the latter.
Vahan Tekeyan
“The Prince of Armenian Poetry”, teacher, editor, social activist, public figure, humanist…
Vahan Tekeyan was born in Constantinople on January 21, 1878. He attended the Nersesian, Perperian and Getronagan collages in Turkey. He worked in one of insurance companies in Constantinople and then as a commercial official travelled to England, France, Germany and finally settled down in Egypt. He constantly collaborated with Western Armenian periodicals and in 1905 he founded the “Shirak” periodical and united the Armenian writers of the time.
After the fall of Sultan Hamid's regime, in 1908, Vahan Tekeyan moved to Constantinople and started publishing «Shirak» as a weekly and actively participating in the national public life. In 1914 he moved to Egypt and escaped from the bloody massacres of the Genocide. His love to literature and teaching in the birthplace made him move to Constantinople where he became the editor of the daily “Zhoghovurdi Dzayn”.
The political life, however, forced the writer to move to Egypt again, where he edited the newspaper “Arev” for the rest of his life. After the Armenian genocide, he did much to help orphans. As a teacher he worked in Armenian schools in Constantinople, Cyprus and other places.
He died in Cairo on April 4, 1945 and was buried in the Armenian cemetery in Cairo.
Tekeyan entered the literary arena in the 90s of the XIX century. He is the last representative of the Western Armenian classical poetry and the first Armenian Diaspora poet. Tekeyan’s poetry reflects the horrors of the genocide, the psychology of suffering of the people being massacred. The author contrasted the heroic past of the Armenian people with the reality of his time. His poetry is known for his unique form and tenderness. He wrote about human feelings and aspirations. Tekeyan is a master of sonnets in Armenian literature. He also wrote stories and chronicles depicting Armenian community life and the national liberation movements. He translated some of Shakespeare’s sonnets and poems by Charles Baudelaire and Paul Verlaine. He is the author of many publicistic and literary articles.
In appreciation of literary and social activities of Vahan Tekeyan, the most important cultural association of the Diaspora, i.e. the Tekeyan Cultural Association, was established in Beirut, in 1947. The TCA along with its branches worldwide contributes to the preservation and promotion of Armenian culture.
Many educational institutions and centres in different countries are named after Vahan Tekeyan amongst which are five schools in Armenia and Artsakh which closely collaborate with the Tekeyan Centre Fund.