During a ceremony held at the U.S. Embassy on March 15, 2011, Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch presented the U.S. Embassy of Armenia's Woman of Courage Award in honor of the late Ms. Amalia Kostanian.  The award honored Ms. Kostanian’s "decade-long crusade to promote accountable and transparent governance, combat corruption, and strengthen civil society engagement,” and highlighted Ms. Kostanian’s “persistence and dedication to Armenia's development and democratization which exemplified honor and patriotism of the highest order.”    Ambassador Yovanovitch spoke at the ceremony, as did Gevorg Kostanian, Deputy General Prosecutor of the Republic of Armenia and Military Prosecutor, and Ms. Kostanian’s brother, Hovik.  Ambassador Yovanovitch stated that Miss Kostanian "devoted considerable energy to educating citizens on their important role in combating corruption at all levels of society.  Her actions conveyed the primary message of her life: that we are all responsible for tackling corruption.” Last year's award was presented to  civil society activist Mariam Sukhudian.