The Next Generation of Armenian Leaders
Repats being involved in shaping Armenia is something as old as Armenia itself. From the Armenian merchants on the Silk Road, to the millenia old monasteries found across the world, up until today’s diaspora community, repats have been influencing Armenia from abroad as well as when they come back home.
How does your role as a repat influence Armenia? How can you shape Armenia’s future? And why should you have an effect on the prosperity of Armenia?
Cultural Reconnection
It's easy to struggle with your identity as an Armenian from another country. On one hand you may feel American, European, Asia, Australian through and through but grew up knowing full well you had something more in your heart and mind. On the other hand you might make it to Armenia and even though you may have been here for years, you still haven’t completely reconciled yourself as a local.
As challenges go, this one can be fun and does not even have to be seen as a challenge. One can simply decide they are a repatriated Armenian, hold fast to their parent country’s identity, and be ensconced in Armenian culture. The fun part is partaking in the Armenian culture, and luckily for a culture as old as ours there is no shortage of ways to find your place in Armenia.
You can reconnect with your Armenian roots through song, film, dance, food, language, history, or even just by going for a hike in the mountains.
Building a Modern Armenian Economy
It should come as no surprise that repats and the diaspora as a whole has had a massive role to play in the modernization of the Armenian economy. The Armenian economy has become modernized through repat efforts such as:
- Donating billions of dollars to Armenia. Every dollar from the billions of dollars philanthropists like Kirk Kerkorian and Hirayr Hovnanian have endowed Armenia with, all the way to the Armenian families around the world sending over $130 million in just one month during the 44 day war.
- Entrepreneurial repats starting their own business in Armenia like Vahe Keushguerian starting his own winery in Armenia, to opening up your own pizza place in Yerevan’s city center.
- The tech industry opening offices in Armenia and brought in other startup businesses to Armenia such as VCs and accelerators.
- Entrepreneurial repats starting their own business in Armenia like Vahe Keushguerian starting his own winery in Armenia, to opening up your own pizza place in Yerevan’s city center.
- The tech industry opening offices in Armenia and brought in other startup businesses to Armenia such as VCs and accelerators.
All these efforts are just some of the things that repats do and continue to do in Armenia that modernizes the Armenian economy.
Influence on Education and Innovation
Armenia’s repats have effectively grown and enhanced Armenian education. While there are many examples of repatriated Armenians benefiting Armenian education, the best example is perhaps the American University of Armenia and its many repatriated professors, administrators, staff, and students.
You can see Armenian education being influenced by repat Armenians at UWC Dilijan in Dilijan, and COAF in Tumanyan both in Tavush and Lori respectively. In schools English is quickly replacing the formerly state mandated Russian, as a result of repats having such an overwhelming influence in Armenia and creating a clear demand to teach English.
Political and Social Activism
A lot of the advancements in everyday culture in Armenia is initiated by repatriated Armenians. Repat Armenians are often found in leading NGOs and media outlets, Organizations such as Birthright Armenia and AVC often will host forums to educate prospective repats on the political climate in Armenia and offer them pathways to make a change. While repats like Maria Titizian will sit as Editor-in-Chief at EVN Report, one of Armenia’s leading news outlets.
NGOs spearheaded by repats will often rewrite the norm of culture and the political atmosphere simply by going around a city and picking up trash, participating in protests, or even going to a refugee site to give those who have lost their home some food after a 9 month blockade.
Repats are often representing two worlds, their parent country and the Armenia they are living in. Repats will see themselves as cultural ambassadors to Armenia, often being asked to speak about what the culture is like in their parent country. The effort that repats show to the locals brings a breath of fresh air and a sense of global enlightenment to a place that can often seem like a cultural island.
Rediscovery and Reinvention of Armenia’s National Identity
Ultimately it is up to you as a repat to bear the responsibility of shaping Armenia’s future, but the truth is that you don’t have to give up your money, offer up all your time, and be self-sacrificing to do it. A lot of growth that repats have offered Armenia through their efforts has been by their own choice and they often have a lot of fun doing it.
In the spirit of the Armenian merchants on the silk road thousands of years ago, to the 9th century Armenians who built churches in Southern Italy, to AGBU doing all that it does to this very day, we can all do what we feel in our hearts to be that “precious blood to give birth to a heroic generation” as spoken by Anatole France.
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