SOAR-Athens Chapter
SOAR-Athens joined the SOAR family in July 2014. The Armenian presence in Greece began centuries ago when Armenians settled in the wider area of Thessaly, Macedonia, and Thrace. Armenians in Greece, however, acquired the character of a community after the 1920s, when 70,000 to 80,000 survivors of the Armenian Genocide fled to Greece from Cilicia, Smyrna, Ionia, Constantinople and Asia Minor, scattering all over Greece.
Today, the number of Armenians in Greece is estimated at approximately 20,000-35,000, living mainly in Attica (Athens, Piraeus and the suburbs) and in smaller communities in Thessaloniki, Kavala, Komotini, Xanthi, Alexandroupolis, Didimoticho, Orestiada and Crete. The majority of Greco-Armenians are Armenian Apostolic. There are a number of Armenian institutions in Greece, among them being: two kindergartens and elementary schools and one high school, in Athens and Piraeus, which belong to the Armenian Blue Cross; the Armenian Community Cultural Center in Thessaloniki; and Armeniki, an amateur soccer club in Athens.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Rita Alexanian
President
Rita Alexanian was born and raised in Lebanon. She studied a year of audiovisual at Notre Dame University (NDU), Lebanon. She recently resides in Greece and continues her education at New York College, Athens. She has worked in several film production departments and helped in a project for film rolls digitization. She was a part of Arine Dance Group (AGBU) in Lebanon for 10 years. Some of her skills include creative writing, oil painting, translating and singing.
Albert Tonoyan
Vice President
Albert Tonoyan was born in Armenia and immigrated to Greece in 1998. He attended the Sophie and Levon Hakobian school in Athens, participating in the Armenian community’s “Armeniki” soccer team as well as the Armenian camp in Pefkochori, Halkidiki. In 2014 he graduated from the University of Piraeus, department of Maritime Economics and Industrial studies and since then he operates his stores in the food and beverage industry.