President Armen Sarkissian’s congratulatory message on the occasion of Knowledge and Schooling Day

Dear Children,

Today is September 1, the day of Knowledge and Schooling, and I congratulate you all warmly on this occasion.

On September 1, 1902 in France the premiere of the silent movie “A Trip to the Moon” took place which was a fantasy story about a trip of a group of astronauts to the Moon. It was a revolutionary film not only for the entire movie production but also for the human thinking because it seemed an impossible dream. Decades later a trip to the Moon became a reality because the movie of the film director Georges Méliès made movie producers think and not only them. This is a story about how one man, one idea can make a huge difference and advance the world, about how to dream and to believe in the dream.

Dear kids, schoolchildren, students: Each and every one of you has an opportunity to do it - those who are coming the school or other educational institution to meet the old friends, as well as those who are entering shyly the school for the first time and find themselves in a world of wonder and even of some uncertainty. In both cases, you, my dear children, are on the road of getting knowledge. Some of you have already passed a part of it, the others are just making first steps, some are looking into professional opportunities, the others have already become specialists.

Everything is still lies ahead even if you think that you know a lot or even everything. Believe me, there is always much more to learn because every moment something new appears in the world, because a human being is pondering constantly, regardless of the age and accumulated knowledge. Intellect is our inherent resource which we turn into knowledge in the school and higher educational institution or add to that knowledge, and the more we develop our intellect, the greater knowledge we acquire and export the results, the more we and our country will advance. We will become stronger all together through the efforts, knowledge, work, and dedication of every one of us, thanks to pupils and students, thanks to the educators who remain true to the high calling of the Teacher, those who don’t disown to learn and to teach, those who know the value of knowledge and its power.

I wish you every success and fulfillment of all your dreams and aspirations.