am
After years of COVID-19 travel restrictions as well as years of news about war and attacks on Armenian territories, it was once again prime time for Armenian organizational representatives to visit diasporan communities with a call for active engagement. A call for engagement, now. This was how the #EngageArmenia2024 European tour came to life. The H. Hovnanian Family Foundation, in addition to promoting volunteerism and repatriation through its Birthright Armenia, Armenian Volunteer Corps and Repat Armenia programs, organized and sponsored the Forum with 12 professionals from Armenia, working in the sectors of education, business/investment consulting, social enterprise, tourism, and mentoring to also join #EngageArmenia as presenters.
Pannel discussion in Paris
The tour, which ran from March 6–13, 2024, concluded with an impressive turnout of over 700 attendees across eight strategic cities for the Diaspora: London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Alfortville, Geneva, Lyon, and Marseille. During this series of events, representatives of various Armenian organizations opened the dialogue and answered multiple questions of the Diaspora Armenians who were wondering why and how to be engaged with Armenia, in times of great challenges and uncertainties. The goal was to give concrete tools to the audience for connecting and contributing meaningfully to Armenia’s future. The organizations that presented included: Impact Hub Yerevan, Via Fund, Teach for Armenia, TUMO, Move2Armenia, Hub Artsakh, Tourism Committee, reArmenia, Optimize Consulting, Eqwefy, National Network Media Platform and M.A.M. Foundation.
Among the engagement opportunities for young professionals was the Birthright Armenia volunteer service program. Its director, Sevan Kabakian, delivered the opening speech at every event, setting the tone for the tour with his insightful words: “We Armenians are very emotional people. And we put all that emotion in the way we see our relationship with the country. We are thrilled by the good news one day and depressed by the bad news the next day. The problem with this mostly emotional approach is that we get tired and become detached. Yet we need to do the exact opposite, since on all fronts our challenges have not ended. That’s why now is the time for your real and unemotional involvement. Now is the time for a relationship that is grounded in the practical, important work for Armenia’s success”.
Sevan Kabakian's (Birthright Armenia) opening speech in Amsterdam
Each city contributed its own unique energy to the tour, young and older generations attending, fostering enthusiastic engagement. In Geneva for example, with 100 attendees, the representative of one of the local organizers Union Arménienne de Suisse, Miganouche Baghramian, expressed deep appreciation for the tour's thoughtful structure. "It was truly a pleasure for our community in Geneva to support such a remarkable initiative," she noted, praising the representatives who shared "their positive energy with us and explained the tangible actions we can take for a stronger and better Armenia."
"We haven't come to convince you one way or another; we haven't come to blame you for living abroad either," stated Vartan Marashlyan, the Director and Co-founder of Repat Armenia. He challenged each attendee of the tour to consider their relationship with Armenia. "Do you take ownership of Armenia? While we highly encourage it, moving here is not the only way to feel ownership,” he explained. In speaking with and surveying attendees, it was clear the honest dialogue about Armenia's challenges and opportunities, while encouraging a pragmatic approach to diaspora involvement, resonated with them. While about 20 percent of overall attendees expressed plans to relocate to Armenia in the next five years, there's still recognition of the need to engage Armenians who are disengaged.
Networking session in Amsterdam
What’s next? The conclusion of the Engage Armenia Forum marked the beginning of crucial conversations with the Armenian diaspora. To sustain and nurture these connections, not only will Repat Armenia and Birthright Armenia aim to strengthen stronger ties with local institutions in the recently toured cities, but efforts are also underway to extend outreach into new countries, introducing tangible avenues for diaspora engagement with Armenia. Leveraging these partnerships will expand opportunities to host more events in the near future, fostering ongoing dialogue and collaboration.
