Homenetmen ( hy, Հ.Մ.Ը.Մ., , short for hy, Հայ Մարմնակրթական Ընդհանուր Միութիւն, meaning ''Armenian General Athletic Union'') is a pan-Armenian

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

organization devoted to

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

and

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth Social movement, movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hik ...

. The motto of Homenetmen is "Rise and Raise" (Elevate Yourself and Elevate Others with You) ( hy, Բարձրացի՛ր, Բարձրացրո՛ւ ''Partsrathsir Partsratsour'').

Foundation

Homenetmen was founded 16 November 1918 in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

present-day

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

. The idea of a pan-Armenian sports association had been promoted for a number of years by an avid athlete and footballer Shavarsh Krissian who started publishing the Armenian language sports periodical '' Marmnamarz'' in 1911 by financial support of the brothers Levon and Krikor Hagopian and by encouragement of Hovhannes Hintliyan, and writer Hagop Sirouni. On 1 May 1911, the Armenian Olympiad Navasartian Games were launched in Turkey. In 1912, Hintliyan also published a pioneering article in ''Marmnamarz'' about

Robert Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the wor ...

and the scouting movement and soon a great number of Armenian scouting groups were established. In 1913, the third pan-Armenian Olympiad was held presided by Komitas and for the first time a number of Armenian scouts also took part. Armenian sporting activities halted because of the onset of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and the demise of Shavarsh Krissian as a victim of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

. On 16 November 1918, a formative constituent assembly was held in Istanbul to launch the "Armenian General Athletic Union and Scouts" by a collective of 7 prominent members: Krikor Hagopian, Levon Hagopian, Dikran Koyian, Carlo Shahinian, Haig Jizmejian, Vahram Papazian and Jirayr Korasanjian with the active support of writer Hagop Sirouni. The pan-Armenian association was recognized as the sole Armenian sports union on 16 December 1918 with the formation of the first Homenetmen Executive Committee. Four Homenetmen chapters were soon opened in various Constantinople neighborhoods. Vahan Cheraz founded the scouting chapter of the association. On July 20, 1920, the founding members of Homenetmen were officially invited to the independent Republic of Armenia to share expertise regarding athleticism and Scouting with the Republic's government. The Homenetmen Executive Committee sent Vahan Cheraz, Dikran Khoyan, and Onig Yazmajian to the meeting. Although initially successful in their efforts to spread Homenetmen’s athletic and Scouting movement within Armenia, Homenetmen later was banned from Armenia after change of regime and the establishment of

Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

in 1921. In 1922, the Homenetmen chapters in Constantinople were forced to close their doors, with the organization's leaders dispersing throughout the world.

Expansion

Homenetmen has established various chapters in the

Armenian diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...

including in many cities in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. There are 111 chapters in 25 countries. These chapters are grouped together in 25 geographic regions.

Activities

Almost all chapters established have activities in scouting and

s. The mission of Homenetmen is to prepare physically strong Armenians and exemplary citizens with the highest intellectual and spiritual virtues: #By teaching endurance and courage,

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

and

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

, obedience to the law and orderliness. #By developing awareness of duty, feelings of responsibility and honour, in a spirit of harmony and cooperation. #By satiating the mind and heart with the noblest of sporting spirit. Homenetmen's objectives are realized by Scouting, general physical education and sports, lectures, seminars and public activities, publications, clubs,

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational i ...

nasia and sports facilities.

Homenetmen Scouts

The biggest number of adherents to Homenetmen are the Scouts, male and female. Most of the Homenetmen Scout groups are also integrated in the national Scout or Guide organizations of their host countries. In many chapters, there is also a section for music bands. The Scouting Division's main objective is to help scouts develop character, citizenship, knowledge of Armenian culture and personal fitness, and acquire scouting knowledge. The program is developed and implemented by the Scout Council, a body appointed by the Regional Executive. It features regional camping trips and seminars on scouting and Armenian-related topics, supplemented by illustrated manuals written in the Armenian language. Following completion of each educational manual, a final exam is administered, and those who pass receive the appropriate badge and certificate. The Scouting program also features troop activities such as field trips to local museums, and amusement parks. Moreover, each troop hosts an annual camping trip, inviting other chapter members to participate. Every four years, there is a Jamboree camp that takes place in Armenia. Scouts from chapters from all over the world attend this two-week-long camp and do community service while also completely immersing themselves in the Armenian culture.

Homenetmen sports

Homenetmen chapters throughout the world also have well-developed sports activities and programs, with various levels including professional sportsmen and in certain cases, with an active participation in local official championships (particularly in Middle Eastern countries, most notably Lebanon and Syria). Main sports included within the various Homenetmen programs include: *

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

* track and fields athletics *

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from ...

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

and others

Media

Homenetmen has been a pioneer in developing sports publications in the Armenian diaspora. It has its own monthly magazine ''Marzig'' published in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

, but covering the pan-Armenian worldwide activities of the organization.

Foundation

Expansion

Activities

Homenetmen Scouts

Homenetmen sports

Media

See also

References

External links