Last summer's successful program inspired a winter version..

On the success of a summer time event last year, and at the suggestion of the president of Armenia, about 350 young adults will gather in Tsakhkadzor next week for "Baze Winter", a series of sporting and cultural competition.

"In fact Winter Baze wasn't planned. It was brought into life at the moment when at the closing ceremony of Baze 2003 the president of the republic suggested an idea: 'Why don't you organize winter baze?'," says head of the press service of All Armenian Youth Fund Astghik Avetisyan.

Between Feb. 2-9, competitors from each region of Armenia, and 50 Diaspora will be divided into teams of Red, Blue and Orange to compete in mini-football, volleyball, table tennis, chess and skiing.

Participants from regions are selected by the local Department of Culture, Education and Youth Affairs. Yerevan participants are selected by university student councils, and Diaspora are selected by their representative embassy. Diaspora competitors will come from USA, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Ukraine and Georgia.

In addition to the sports competition, participants will also hold round-table discussions on subjects pertinent to civil affairs in Armenia. They will also be visited by politicians and government ministers.

The week's events will also include song and dance competitions and a challenge to build an "ice city". Avetisyan explains that competitors will be given only shovels and hair dryers and challenged to make constructions using those tools.

"Baze" (the word for hawk) was created in 1998. It cooperates with all student organizations, different state bodies and youth non-governmental organizations. It implements two types of programs: local and All Armenian. Young people from different regions of Armenia as well as from Javakhk and Artsakh participated in the first Baze. Last year Baze became Pan-Armenian and young people from different Armenian communities around the world began participating.