BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA
WINTER//2015
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BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA
- Table of Contents “What Happened in 2014“ Infographic_______________________________________ 3 What’s New____________________________________________________________________ 4 Catching Alumni Doing Good_________________________________________________ 5 Birthright Armenia in the Media______________________________________________ 8 Weddings & Babies___________________________________________________________ 9 Pathway to Armenia__________________________________________________________ 10 AVC Voluntourism: A great summer vacation option!_______________________ 12 Staff Corner__________________________________________________________________ 13 Connect Professionally_______________________________________________________ 13
Winter Edition
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What’s New Heritage Trip
Leadership Retreat in New York City
As we are approaching the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Birthright Armenia is considering organizing a “Heritage Trip”, for alumni to visit Western Armenia. We believe visiting our historical lands connects us all no matter where we live today, and will prove to be an experience that that we will never forget. The trip is meant to be an educational experience that tells us the story of what happened in the lands of our ancestors and how it impacts our lives and Armenia, today. Birthright Armenia will help subsidize the costs for this 8-day trip, from July 24th-July 31st. This includes all bus transportation from Yerevan to Western Armenia, as well as all hotel and food costs. We estimate a cost of around $1,000 person, of which BR will cover exactly half for alumni only. Please note your airfare to and from Armenia will not be covered. Below you’ll find a link to our simple, two question survey, to register your name and a yes or no response to the question if you are reasonably interested and able to participate . If you’re pretty sure this trip won’t work out for you time wise or financially, please do not respond with yes. The deadline to fill out the survey is February 20, 2015. It’s important that you respond by the deadline.
If you’d like the opportunity to voice your opinions and ideas, and be heard loud and clear (we always listen!), here it is. We’re in the process of strategizing our next 10- year plan, and your feedback is very important to us. And all responders to the survey by its deadline will be eligible to win a fully paid trip to New York City, to participate in a Leadership Retreat to discuss the next 10-year vision with board and staff. Six to 10 alums, representative of our diverse alumni base, will be invited to participate in this weekend retreat to be scheduled for mid-late spring.
The deadline to fill out the survey is February 20, 2015. Our thanks to all in advance for your time and feedback. Survey: English: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7Q6SPHF Spanish: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RLSSFPZ
Russian:https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RLYQGDK French: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/T8FL2RL Survey English: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VVDYXTD
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Catching Alumni Doing Good
Lionsharp Solution, a company based out of Armenia and co-founded by Nigel Sharp (2010), launched a device called Voiceboard during the month of December. Voiceboard is the world’s first voice and gesture controlled application for making presentations unique. “This product gives presenters the opportunity to captivate their audiences by using their hands and voice to engage with interactive media, such as maps, webpages and 3D models,” said Nigel Sharp. Click here to see how it all works.
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Anahid Yahjian (2011), a writer and filmmaker, has recently released a short film set to the original manuscript of Sylvia Plath’s poem of the same name, THE JAILOR. The film was shot over a course of three days during a drive from Los Angeles up the California coast toward San Francisco. Click here to watch the film. Anahid was born in Bulgaria and raised in Los Angeles. She graduated from Occidental College with a degree in comparative literature and film studies and has done work in Yerevan, Sofia, Los Angeles, and New York. Her work has been published, screened, and awarded internationally. Visit www.anahidyahjian.com to see more of her work.
Alin Demirdjian (2011), a young musician from Buenos Aires, Argentina, has released a new album called “Buscando el Ámbar” (Searching for the Amber). The album consists of mainly Spanish songs but one of the songs called Վերջապես – Verchapes she sings in Armenian. Alin has been singing and playing guitar from a very young age and has recently done tours in Buenos Aires, Cordoba, and other cities in Argentina. You can listen to Alin’s new album by clicking here. Alin also sings in a band called “Alin and Talin”, with Talin Leylek (2013). They have done several performances in Armenia and sing many of their songs in Armenian. Click here to see one of their most recent music videos called “Snow”, which is filmed in Armenia by Jarakite Creative Partners, co-founded by Peno Mishoyan (2014) and Aramazt Kalayjian.
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The University of Southern California (USC) Dornsife’s Institute of Armenian Studies has appointed Richard Antaramian (2006) as the Turpanjian Early Career Chair in Contemporary Armenian Studies and assistant professor of history. He currently teaches two undergraduate courses, one on the Ottomans and the First World War, and in the spring he will teach a class on the Armenian diaspora. Antaramian’s research focuses on the role of the Armenian Church under Ottoman governance during 19th century. At USC, he will expand his dissertation, “In Subversive Service of the Sublime State: Tanzimat, Consolidating Jurisdiction, and Armenian Reform in the Ottoman Empire, 1844-1896” into a book. Click here to find out more about Professor Antaramian’s experiences and what led him to work in academia.
iNexxus, a leading digital branding and marketing agency in Armenia, co-founded by Raffi Keuhnelian (2006) and Antranig Khachkhechyan (2012), will be involved in the upcoming Hollywood production, “1915 The Movie”. This movie takes place a hundred years after the Armenian Genocide. It’s about what happens when the past is denied and when it is confronted. As we near the centennial of the Genocide, the movie calls upon each of us to end our denial. “I’m a descendant of the Armenian Genocide, I live with that thought every day and my drive is to promote the interests of Armenians and Armenia on a global scale,” said Raffi. “More than just a business opportunity, the project carries a lot of personal and moral value for our whole team.” iNexxus will be heading everything from social media marketing to PR and digital design. The music to the film will be written by the famous composer from System of a Down, Serj Tankian. Click here to find out more about iNexxus and the great work they are doing all across the world.
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Birthright Armenia in the Media
Wow! The boost we got from being featured in the recent CNN International’s segment called “On the Road” Armenia has been incredible! We received a lot of international calls from viewers asking how they can help us get more youth to volunteer, and emails galore from all over the globe. Best of all, we’ve started to get applications from volunteers who learned about us from this CNN piece. Can’t ask for more than that! For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, two CNN reporters followed two of our recent volunteers, Tania Aghanian and Justin Mayfield, and held an interview with our very own Sevan Kabakian. Click here to watch. Enjoy!
In-country alum, Armen Martirosian (2010), is interviewed on VOA Armenia. He shares his story of why he made the move to Armenia and what it’s like to live there. Click here , to watch his interview.
Shoghakat TV joined the Birthright Armenia Christmas party this year and held interviews with several of our volunteers and in-country alumni. They also gave Nigel Sharp (2010) of Lionsharp Solutions an opportunity to plug their new Voiceboard product. Click here, to watch interview. unteering begins at the 35 minute mark. One of our current volunteers from Boston, MA, Aram Bedrosian, took part in an interview on Public TV Company of Armenia to speak about volunteer service. Click here, to watch his interview. The segment on volunteering begins at the 35 minute mark.
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Weddings & Babies
Mira Mitri (2013) married David Free on November 22, 2014 in Toronto, Ontario. Congratulations to
Viktoria Simonyan (2007) married Ari Abramovitz on December 21, 2014 in Jerusalem, Israel. Mazel Tov!
Sam Kassarjian (2006) married Elen Tadevosyan on October 17, 2014 in Yerevan, Armenia. Shnorhavor tsez!
Satenik Aragulyan (2012) married Artashes Hayrapetyan on January 6, 2015 in Belarus. Shnorhavor Satenik and Artashes!
Varty Defterderian (2005) married Antreas Hindoyan on November 8, 2014 in California. Congratulations and the best of luck to you both! Mi bartzits dzeranak!
Armen Martirosian (2010) married Ani Hakopian on November 18, 2014 in Yerevan, Armenia.
Armen and Cristina Rakedjian (2008) had a baby boy, Avetis Rakedjian, on August 2, 2014 in Shushi, Artsakh.
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PATHWAY to ARMENIA
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rthur Dolmajian, a 2009 summer volunteer from Montreal, recently came to Armenia as a Pathway to Armenia participant. After entering a competition organized by UNDP Kolba Innovation Lab, a social venture incubator, Arthur was chosen as one of the 10 finalists to continue his project in Armenia. His project is focused on improving access to public transportation in Yerevan and integrating it into Google Maps. As soon as he arrived, he received news that his project will be funded by UNDP. Arthur holds a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from École Polytechnique de Montréal and worked as a Traffic Engineer for the Ministry of Transportation of Quebec. During his Birthright Armenia experience, he volunteered with Dorozhnik, a civil construction firm in Gyumri.
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Birthright Armenia LA Reunion
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irthright Armenia held an alumni reunion in Los Angeles, California, on December 29, 2014. The reunion had close to 100 alumni in attendance from all over California. The event was a great success and helped reconnect many of the alumni in the Los Angeles area as well as introduce the program to new potential volunteers, who came as guests to learn more.
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AVC Voluntourism:
A great summer vacation option! Just a few spots left! Are your family members and friends still looking for the perfect way to visit Armenia? Maybe they’re not ready yet or simply don’t have enough time now to dive into Birthright Armenia or Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC)? AVC’s Voluntourism program may be just what they need. Southern Discovery 2015, set for June 19 to 30, is ideal for someone who’s planning a first visit as well as someone who has been here before as a typical tourist, but would like to experience a little more this time. It would be a perfect family holiday for those wanting to experience something inspiring, fun and rewarding together with their loved ones. Participants will visit historic sites, enjoy the natural beauty of Armenia, and also give something back by volunteering with local organizations and communities. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Tell everyone you know. Learn more here: http://www.armenianvolunteer.org/index.php/programs/voluntourism/voluntourism-summer-2015 or contact us directly at info@avc.am.
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Staff Corner Nina Baghdasaryan joined Birthright Armenia as Digital Marketing Specialist in November 2014. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University and does Master’s in the same field of the same university right now. Nina is enthusiastic about digital media studies, graphic design and film photography.
CONNECT PROFESSIONALLY ON
Accelerate your career by joining our professional networking community on LinkedIn. Connecting with alum can help you discover business opportunities, land exciting jobs, distribute job listings, and get introduced to inside connections, all through your affiliation to Birthright Armenia and fellow Depi Haykers. Our alumni base, which now represents 32 different countries across the world, is well connected and you may be surprised by who they know.
STAY WITH US!
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