National Olympic Academy of Armenia

Factsheet

Country Armenia
Name of AcademyNational Olympic Academy of Armenia
Հայաստանի ֆիզիկական կուլտուրայի և սպորտի պետական ինստիտուտ
Emailinfo@sportedu.am
Websitehttp://sportedu.am
Name of PresidentAnzhela NUSHIKYAN
Contact PersonArmine SARGSYAN
Foundation Date21 July 1945
Year of accession to EOA2020
Social media linksN/A

Meet our members – An interview series by the EOA

See all interviews here

2,985km lie between the EOA headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany and Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, one of our four newest member countries. In November 2021, this distance was bridged when the EOA paid a virtual visit to the Armenian NOA (ArmNOA) to discover more about its structures and latest developments. We spoke to President Davit Khitaryan, Vice President Anzhela Nushikyan, Scientific Secretary (Dean) Harutyun Babayan and Academy Coordinator Armine Sargsyan, the latter of whom translated for us.

The Armenian NOA was established in 1990 on the instructions of the NOC, which was also founded in the same year. The organisational structure of the NOA is best described as a sub-division of the NOC and is also affiliated to the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture and Sport (ASIPCS), which carries out all NOA activities. Armine Sargsyan explains that the Academy is accountable to the NOC and its leadership is elected and appointed by the NOC Executive Commission however the NOA also benefits from the framework of ASIPCS, whose infrastructure and staff it draws upon.

The NOA leadership consists of a President (Davit Khitaryan), Vice President (Anzhela Nushikyan) and Scientific Secretary/Dean (Harutyun Babayan). In addition, it has three working groups of former IOA Session participants: the “Organising Committee”, the “Olympic Ideology, Education and Propaganda Commission” and the “Scientific Methodological Activities Commission”.

The activities of the ArmNOA include the regional and national propagation of the Olympic idea – which is promoted via media platforms and seminars at educational institutions – and scientific engagement with the Olympic Movement. Moreover, the Armenian NOA is active at various events, as for instance the Pan-Armenian Games, which celebrates the participation of Armenia in the ancient Greek Olympic Games.

The most ambitious project at the moment is the introduction of a special school subject called “Physical Culture” to the national curriculum. The subject will be taught to students from the 2nd to the 12th grades and topics will include the Olympic origins, sport and fair play.

ArmNOA maintains close relations with the NOA of Belarus and Ukraine, both of which mutually invite each other to scientific congresses and maintain regular contact. ArmNOA joined the EOA in 2020 to expand its network and establish dialogue with other National Olympic Academies in Europe.

Brief information about ArmNOA

The Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture was established on July 21, 1945. To date, the Institute has trained 12 thousand specialists in physical culture, sports journalism, kinesiology and adaptive physical culture. One of the main goals of the Institute is to train highly qualified specialists in physical culture and sports. At the Olympic Games, the students and graduates of our Institute have won gold, silver and bronze medals in various sports.
In 2016, the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture was re-established as Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports. The internationalization strategy of our university refers to stimulating the ongoing internationalization processes at the institutional and program levels, expanding and diversifying the international connections of the institute, stimulating the internationalization processes with European and CIS educational institutions of physical culture and sports at the institutional and program levels, expanding the international scientific cooperation of the institute, involving the institute in the research field of European and CIS countries, encouraging the increase of foreign students and postgraduates in the Institute of Physical Culture and Sports.

Institutional Cooperations

ASIPCS has signed international cooperation agreements with 40 universities, institutions and international organizations in about 30 countries around the world, including the State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism (Russia), the State Academy of Physical Culture and Sports (Ukraine), the State University of Physical Education and Sports (Georgia), the State University of Physical Culture and Sports in Beijing (China), Thomas Moore University College, Belgium (Kingdom of Belgium), SPAA India Sport Association.
Within the framework of international cooperation, a total of 34 experience exchange visits were carried out (12 lecturers, 12 students and 10 administrative staff).

The Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture and Sport is a member of the International Association of Colleges of Physical Culture and Sport and the International Olympic Academy.
Lecturers and young participants of the Institute take part in the annual meetings of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As a result, they carry out their activities for the dissemination of Olympic ideas in Armenia and are published in the IOC journal.
Now, as the National Olympic Academy, the Institute has become a member of the European Olympic Academies, within the framework of which it disseminates the Olympic ideas through the conducted works.

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