On October 27, the Minister of Culture of France, Rima Abdul Malak and Deputy Ministers of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of the RA, Arthur Martirosyan, Alfred Kocharyan, and Daniel Danielyan visited TUMO Center for Creative Technologies accompanied by H.E. Mr. Olivier Decottignies, France’s Counsellor of the Minister, Tristan Frido, Head of Cabinet of the Minister, Mathieu Fournet, President and director of the Louvre Museum, Laurence Des Cars, former Mayor of Lyon, Georges Kepenekian, actor and stage director, Simon Abkarian, singer and pianist, Macha Gharibian, and more. Their tour gave the Minister and her delegation a firsthand look at the TUMO educational program, after which they sat down for face-to-face discussions with TUMO’s management.

The primary objective of the visit was for our guests to see what makes TUMO tick and why our educational model — known for its hands-on approach — has been so successful. The Minister and her team were keen to learn how TUMO manages to engage and inspire youth to learn.

Their tour was followed by discussions with TUMO’s CEO Marie Lou Papazian, CDO Pegor Papazian, and management from various departments that revolved around the program’s effectiveness in promoting independent learning and critical thinking. Another key topic of conversation was TUMO’s expansion into other countries. The French Minister was keen on acknowledging the success of the adoption of the TUMO model across the globe and the importance of making a free-of-charge program in STEM available to teens.

Minister Rima Abdul Malak noted, “I’m truly impressed with what TUMO has accomplished here. It’s a fantastic model for engaging young minds in creative education. I’m also proud that we have TUMO centers in Paris and Lyon. It’s an excellent testament to the impact and reach of the TUMO program.”

The historical and cultural ties between Armenia and France made this visit even more meaningful. The strong relationship between the two countries has always been a foundation of their collaboration, and we’re proud to continue to carry on that baton toward deeper cultural cooperation and knowledge sharing.

As the French Minister concluded her visit, it became clear that the exchange of ideas and experiences between these two nations can lead to valuable advancements in creative education. The lessons learned during this visit will likely have a lasting impact on the future of education, not only in Armenia and France but also around the world.

When official delegations from various countries visit Armenia — whether on educational, cultural, or collaboration initiatives — a visit to TUMO headquarters in Yerevan is often on the itinerary and tours like the following are a common sight at the center.

On October 19, we were happy to host Ingrida Šimonytė, Prime Minister of Lithuania, Armenia’s Minister of High-Tech Industries Robert Khachatryan, and the ambassadors of Armenia and Lithuania in both countries, H.E. Mr. Hovhannes Igityan and H.E. Mr. Andrius Pulokas. Our esteemed guests were accompanied by a delegation of colleagues and guided through the TUMO experience by its founders and management with a tour around the center.

After an introduction to how the unique TUMO educational program works, what makes it different from other programs and pedagogies, and what’s made it so successful worldwide, the Prime Minister also got familiar with student experience on a more personal level. TUMOian Narek Harutyunyan gave his first-hand accounts of a day in the life of a TUMO student and the Prime Minister even took a peek into “Path” — every TUMO student’s dynamic, adaptive, and personalized TUMO curriculum (a software designed in-house).

After Narek shared some more insight into how the skills received at TUMO trickle into the rest of students’ lives, the Prime Minister said,

“I’m not surprised TUMO students excel in mathematics in their regular schools. Even though you don’t teach math directly, when students realize they can overcome challenges by completing projects here, that empowers them, and previously difficult topics become accessible to them.”

The party later sat down to discuss more of the unique cogs in the innovative TUMO machine and the experiences of its adaptation in international TUMO centers. Our guests expressed sincere admiration for the visible impact that TUMO has on students thanks to a pedagogy that is built on independent self-learning and real-life, project-based workshops.

We hope to have inspired our guests and look forward to continuing to discuss how the TUMO model can fit into the educational landscape in Lithuania.