By decision of the Armenian government and UNESCO, 2012 will be declared the year the prominent Armenian mathematician, astronomer and geographer, Anania Shirakatsi, to honor his 1400th birthday.

The main event of the year will be a scientific conference to be held at Armenia's Byurakan observatory, which will focus of Shirakatsi's astrological works as well as the country's astrological monuments.

As preparation for the event, Byurakan observatory will host a seminar on July 12-13, 2011, on the initiative of professor Hrach Martirosyan of Leiden University.