SOAR - Zurich Chapter
Switzerland became part of the SOAR family in September 2013. The first Armenian families settled in Switzerland at the end of the 19th century, fleeing persecution of Sultan Abdul Hamid in the Ottoman Empire. They settled mainly in French-speaking Switzerland. During and immediately after the Armenian Genocide of 1915, other refugees arrived. In the 1920s, Pastor Kraft Bonnard created an orphanage in Begnins where more than 200 orphans and genocide survivors found refuge. After finishing their studies, some remained permanently in Switzerland.
At the end of the Second World War, the community in Switzerland reached approximately 300 people. Since then, the number has continued to grow. The situations in the Middle East, in the former Soviet Union, and in independent Armenia have encouraged many Armenians to immigrate to the West. It is estimated that approximately 5,000 Armenians live in Switzerland today.
The majority of Swiss Armenians are members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, under the jurisdiction of the Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin. There are four church regions: Geneva, Zurich, Neuchatel and Lugano. The Saint Hagop Church in Troinex serves mainly the West of the country, while Armenians living in the East conduct their religious services in a number of sister Swiss churches. There are also a smaller number of Armenian Catholics belonging and even a smaller number of Armenian Evangelicals.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Dr. Nvart Najarian Magdassian
Dr. Nvart Najarian Magdassian was born in Yerevan and raised in Beirut in a ‘mixed’ Armenian family; therefore, she is fluent in both Western and Eastern Armenian.
After schooling in Beirut Dr. N Magdassian received her Primary Medical Qualification from Yerevan State Medical University and continued her specialization in Clinical Oncology in London. She received a Masters’ Degree in Cancer Research from Cancer Institute of University College London. Dr. N. Magdassian gathered her clinical experience in clinical oncology, hematology and tried her hand in transplantational medicine in Kings’ College London and Cambridge University Hospitals before settling in Zürich Switzerland, where she lives and works currently with her family.
Outside of work, Nvart enjoys theatre, books, art and music. She is a keen skier and likes hiking. She is fluent in Armenian, English, German, conversational Russian, French and Arabic.