YEREVAN. - A number of activities are going to be held on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Armenia’s independence. The events will be held not only in Armenia but also beyond its borders, head of the committee on organizing the anniversary events, Vigen Sargsyan told the journalists on Thursday.

The events will have the motto of "Hayastan, du es". It can be translated in two ways: as "Armenia, this is you" and "Armenia, you and me." The song also carries the name, its composer is Armen Martirosyan and the author of the words is Avet Barseghyan. Director of the video is Davit Babayan. Yerevan Production offered the motto and the symbol for the event. Besides this song there are also two other.

In the framework of celebration the military parade will be held at the Republic Square in Yerevan on September 21 at 11.00 a.m. The liturgy will start at 01.00 p.m. at St Grigor Lusavorich church in Yerevan. Concert with laser show and fireworks at the Republic Square will close the evening. Solemn meetings and concerts will be held throughout the country.

The new unit of the Matenadaran Museum-Institute of ancient manuscripts will open within the frameworks of the events. It is triple of the size of current building and is saturated with modern equipments. It also meets all the strict criteria. The main building of Matenadaran will be repaired and the works are expected to be over in spring of 2012.

Next year Yerevan will be announced the book city of the world. After the renovation, the main building will become an exhibition hall. A new terminal of the international airport and a new cycle track are also planned to open. 

According to Sargsyan, the week of September 21 will be full of cultural events. Particularly, tours of Mariinsky symphonic orchestra, concert of philharmonic orchestra of the Galust Gyulbenkian foundation will be held. Armenian History Museum will open an exhibition of "Three republics of Armenia" reflecting the three stages of the country respectively. The Central Bank of Armenia will release a silver coin devoted to the 20th anniversary of independence. Only 300 samples of coin will be released. Besides the coin, a postmark will also be released together with the catalog of coins and marks, which were released in previous years.

Competition for the essays is already held in public schools. The keynote of the essays was the persuasion that current generation is the creator of the future. Armenian university will also hold essay competitions on the theme of "I have dream."

A number of activities will also be held abroad. Among them will be organized receptions of diplomatic representatives, concerts, and exhibitions. Armenian President will take part in events organized in Armenian Diaspora. Famous Armenian-French singer Charles Aznavour will give a special concert devoted to the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence at Olympia hall. The state budget allocated AMD 214 million for the organization of the events. Besides,"ARARAT" Yerevan brandy factory, "Geopromining" Company and "Neva-Rus" Company will sponsor the events.