El tenista correntino Ignacio Monzón tuvo una gran semana en Armenia sin embargo no pudo coronar con el título en el M15 de Tsaghkadzor que concluyó este domingo. Monzón (631º en el ránking de la ATP) perdió la final del certamen que se desarrolló sobre superficie de polvo de ladrillo... The post Monzón perdió la final del M15 en Armenia appeared first on Diario 1588.

El correntino Ignacio Monzón (actual 631°) volvió a meterse en la final de un torneo de ITF, tras vencer en semifinales al francés Corentin Denolly (máximo favorito del torneo y 440° del mundo), por 6-3 y 6-3, alcanzó el partido decisivo del torneo M15 Tsaghkadzor, en Armenia, certamen que se... The post Tenis de itf: Monzón, en la final de Armenia appeared first on Diario 1588.

Armenia’s Tennis Stars Elina Avanesyan and Alina Charaeva Hit the Court With 200 Young Players in Tsaghkadzor

In August 2026, as part of CEE Hub‘s Peer Learning Exchange, I travelled from Slovenia to Armenia to take part in the Summer WikiCamp, organised by Wikimedia Armenia and held in Tsaghkadzor. In my head, the plan behind the exchange was pretty straightforward: I would participate in WikiCamp activities, learn from the organisers, connect with people, spend some time there, and that’s it. But pretty quickly I realised it was going to be a completely different experience from what I had anticipated. Let me start by saying that I have been to quite a few Wikimedia events by now. I have attended conferences, meetings, edit-a-thons, workshops, and Wikimania. I have met hundreds of people, worked on projects, given presentations, and spent countless hours talking about Wikipedia. And yet… somehow, a WikiCamp in Armenia became the best Wikimedia experience of my life. My Group #2 at the Summer Youth WikiCamp in Armenia 2026 Authour: Հակուլիկ, CC BY-SA 4.0 ## The Warm Welcome The magic started at 6 AM on the very first day. As I stepped out of the baggage claim hall, I saw a sign welcoming me to Armenia, held by none other than my lovely mentor, Mari Avetisyan, who had been assigned to guide me throughout the exchange. After a very warm reunion, we started our journey to Tsaghkadzor. From that moment on, she took care of me, making sure I got where I needed to be, had something to eat, and always knew what was going on. Having Mari there from the beginning meant more to me than I can really put into words… She made me feel at home before I had even reached the camp. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to have by my side for my first trip to Armenia, and I will always be grateful for that. Thank you for everything, Mari. I’m so lucky to have you not only as a mentor, but as my big sis from another mother. After a short, scenic drive, we found ourselves right in the middle of the action: we had arrived at the WikiCamp. Immediately, I was bombarded with hellos and welcomes, given a tour, and even had Anna, one of the camp participants, volunteer to be my personal translator. I was genuinely baffled by the sheer warmth of these people, all of whom I had met approximately five minutes earlier. It was only later that I learned they were suffering from a terrible condition known as “Armenian hospitality.” This was also when I was assigned to Group #2, a wonderful thirteen-person group that I would end up spending the next five days with. There were four groups competing against each other in editing and activities throughout the camp, and at the time, I had no idea just how much these people were about to become a part of my WikiCamp experience. But more on them later. Because first, we need to talk about the thing that surprised me most: the group system. It was the first thing that caught me off guard, because it pushed me beyond being just a random individual from Slovenia. I actually had a team. And not only did I have a team — I desperately wanted my team to win. The whole thing was brilliantly designed to make people connect. You were always talking to your teammates, figuring things out together, rooting for each other, and getting way too invested in whatever ridiculous challenge was happening at that moment. I’m used to Wikimedia events where you sit people down, tell them about Wikipedia, and then you edit. And there’s usually not that much fun in the editing process itself. Here, the editing was still serious. There were dedicated editing hours, and when it was time to edit, you edited. But around that, you had games, performances, sports, social activities, and plenty of time to just hang out. The days were packed. The programme started around 9 in the morning and kept going until almost midnight. It sounds totally nuts — and it was — but somehow it worked. There was a balance between the Wikimedia side and the fun side. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be. Author: Հակուլիկ, CC BY-SA 4.0 ## From a Guitar-playing Foreign Exchange Student to a Sheikh Maybe the title of this section doesn’t make much sense, but give me a moment. One of the best aspects of the camp was seeing how committed everyone was to the performances and competitions. There was Fort Wiki, a Delicious Contest, sports, and all sorts of games and quizzes throughout the week. But the performances were definitely where things got crazy. The Delicious Contest was probably my favourite. Each group had to prepare a meal for the judges and put on a performance. I ended up playing a Slovenian exchange student living with an Armenian all-girl family and desperately wanting to go home. My “Slovene family” came to visit, ate our food, and immediately all hell broke loose, with the Armenian family screaming, crying, and begging me to stay in Armenia. We ended the performance with me playing guitar while the whole group sang an adapted version of _Im Poqrik Navak_ , a well-known Armenian song: _Im poqrik tgha,_ (_My little boy_) _Im poqrik tgha,_ (_My little boy_) _Khasnes ardyoq S-lo-ve-ni-a?_ (_Will you make it all the way to Slovenia?_) _Te chanaparin du kposhmanes_ (_Or will you lose your way along the road_)_ U veradardzi champan kbrnes_ (_And find yourself turning back?_) Maybe the title of this section makes a little more sense now. But I wasn’t done yet. For our final performance, the theme was “The Arab World,” and I became an arrogant sheikh with three wishes. One of them was for immense wealth to befall me — which, in Armenian, apparently means exactly what it sounds like. The djinn smashed a jar over my head, and I woke up surrounded by dancers. Naturally, I ended the performance by choosing a man as my wife. One of the most peculiar coincidences of the trip was meeting Armine and Ruzanna. Both of them study German, just like me, so we naturally ended up speaking German with each other throughout the camp. Apparently, I had to travel 2,500 kilometres from Ljubljana to Armenia to find my fellow German majors. Needless to say, this was unexpected. And then there was my lovely Secret Friend, Ellen, who secretly prepared three Armenian gifts for me throughout the camp: first a little Armenian magnet, then a notebook featuring the famous “Sakh lava” dog sitting in a room on fire, and finally some sujukh, basically the Armenian version of Snickers. But what made them especially cute were the little notes that came with each gift, all written in Slovene. I have to give her props for that. She found out pretty quickly that Slovene grammar is not exactly easy :P. At some point in between all of this, I was also learning Armenian. I picked up such essential phrases as _pupushs_ (“my dear”) and _pogh chka_ (“I am broke”), so I would say the cultural exchange was going extremely well. Author: Հակուլիկ, CC BY-SA 4.0 ## Let’s Get Serious Of course, the exchange wasn’t just about having fun. Aside from being a participant, I also got the chance to see what is going on behind the scenes. I met with different members of the Wikimedia Armenia team and got to ask about everything from planning and logistics to communication, working with different age groups, and, most importantly, how they keep people involved after their first Wikimedia experience. I came with lots of questions and fast fingers, eager to note every single detail of our conversations. But the biggest thing I took away from this exchange was just how impressed I was by this team. The way they organise themselves, the amount of thought that goes into everything, and the sheer enthusiasm and energy they bring to their work completely blew me away. Every day I was just in awe. One thing that shocked me was the demand for WikiCamps. Before coming to Armenia, I honestly expected that getting enough young people interested might be one of their challenges. Instead, I found out that hundreds of people apply for WikiCamps every year, with only a fraction able to attend. At this point, I am pretty sure it is statistically easier to get into Wikimania than Wikimedia Armenia’s WikiCamp. They have genuinely built something special. They have created a Wikimedia environment where young people actually _want_ to be, where the programme is exciting, where people come back, and where the community keeps growing. And after seeing it from the inside, I don’t just want to take these ideas back to Slovenia — I want to build something like this here. So a huge thank you to Arshak, Mher, Artashes, Davit, Mari, and Haykuhi, and to every other member of the team whom I didn’t have the privilege of meeting. You completely blew me away. The amount of work, care, creativity, and energy you put into everything is incredible. Every day, you somehow managed to surprise me with something new, and it was immensely inspiring to see a team that is so organised, so enthusiastic, and so clearly passionate about what they do. I feel incredibly lucky that I got to see it all up close, and I really hope I can bring some of that magic back to Slovenia. Meet the organisers Author: Հակուլիկ, CC BY-SA 4.0 ## Until next time When I left Armenia, I realised that the thing I was going to miss most wasn’t the WikiCamp itself. It was the people. Most of all, I knew I was going to miss my incredible Group #2, who managed to make five days feel like a lifetime. By the end of the exchange, Armenia really started to feel like a second home to me. I arrived knowing almost no one, and left with people I hope will remain my friends for a very long time. I came to Armenia to learn from Wikimedia Armenia. I certainly did that. But I also found a community that welcomed me as if I had been part of it all along. I can proudly say that this was the best Wikimedia experience of my life**.** And I cannot wait to go back. So, Armenia, until next time. Սրտիցս մի փոքրիկ կտոր թողեցի այնտեղ. _I left a little piece of my heart there._