by Alfred Eisaian
I first visited Armenia in May of 1996! In 1999 I committed to a 40-year “ukhd” (deep and long term promise) to come to Armenia EVERY year at least once and stay engaged throughout the year regardless of my physical location and do all I can to help her advancement and prosperity. This has been a life-changing and ultimately rewarding and absolutely enjoyable journey.
In my assessment, I believe the developments in the technology sector in Armenia in 2013 & 2014 have been the MOST tangible in inspiring hope for the future in me since my first visit to Armenia in 1996. Now before I get criticized for being Pollyannaish and too positive to see the massive issues facing Armenia and Armenians, let me just say this:
There are volumes of articles and analysis devoted to what is NOT going well for our country and our nation globally. I am NOT minimizing these or even rationalizing them away. I am simply choosing to focus this article on the positive momentum that I am observing, and advocating the consolidation of these efforts and leveraging them for additional success and even transformation in 2015 and beyond.
THE CREATIVE CLASS
My fundamental and core belief is that in any society the path to advancement and prosperity always begins with the active and focused efforts of its Creative Class. What do I mean by the Creative Class? Who are its members? And where are they?
By the Creative Class, I use a broad definition of all individuals that choose to apply their talent, education, spirit, focus, resources and time in pursuit of creating ideas, products and services that benefit their fellow human beings and as a result also themselves.
This creative endeavor is pursued vigorously regardless of and often as a direct result of the overcoming all the severe “realities.” In recent Armenian reality, these words capture the spirit of creativity and courage perfectly:
“When there is no way out or any cures, madmen find solutions!”
In 2013 & 2014 there were some ”madmen” (and madwomen) amongst us that chose and continue to choose the path of creativity and action rather than the destructive narratives of despair, defeat and depression!
I personally salute these inspired souls among us that day in and day out choose to stay in the active side of infinity, of creation, of action, and of service.
I believe that the following quote is quite appropriate for our collective challenges ahead!
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” George Bernard Shaw
In 17 years of deep engagement with Armenia and the Diaspora and observing what has been accomplished and what more can be done, I have come to the conclusion that all great progress is dependent upon the following:
- Caring (Deep & Sustained)
- Commitment (Long & Focused)
- Competence (Excellent & Wolrd-Class)
- Creativity (Bold and Transformative)
- Community (Loving & Supportive)
I believe that the Creative Class of Armenians in Armenia and Diaspora and their wider networks of non-Armenian friends can be leveraged to bringing transformation in all areas of our reality if we are able to harness this massive potential.
All the requisite technologies are there to connect all of us in this global and comprehensive effort for transformation. I believe we have ALL the resources we need in talent and in capital. There are already success stories that can and should be leveraged in our own Armenian contemporary reality that I will touch upon later in this article!
So, what is the missing piece of the puzzle?
I believe the main obstacle is our own lack of resolve and confidence in our abilities to bring about this new and desired reality individually and collectively. To take on a massive and comprehensive 5-15-year plan of transformation it will take a lot of will and perseverance to stay the course. But again we have lots of examples in our recent history that point to the fact that we have this talent only if we set our minds to it as a collective. There have been efforts in the past such as the Armenia2020 initiative that can be built upon.
My own personal wish would be a transparent and tech-driven effort that would allow all of our concerned, committed and competent creative folks to engage and contribute however they choose from wherever they might be.
We can also allow our global nation to participate in the selection of the national priorities again from wherever they choose in an open and transparent manner. Of course the most pressing matters facing our nation would be given more weight and priority by the current residents and citizens of Armenia proper.
Again, I believe that we have the technology, the talent and the funding to bring this “Quest for Transformation” national project into reality already!
Now let me get back to the reasons for my optimism and why I believe that we already have great momentum and must maintain this momentum.
TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY COMING TOGETHER
This community that I personally know most about and engaged with most deeply has evolved beyond what most of us had hoped for. In just three short years since the inaugural StartUp Mixer on November 3, 2011, the community has now grown to 700+ members on it’s Facebook page. There is wide communication and one can say collaboration happening with the Silicon Valley based HyeTech group with its 300+ members. There has been numerous meetings and events in Yerevan and Silicon Valley, LA, Boston, NY and Toronto that one can only celebrate and encourage.
Community-Building Events Proliferate
There were numerous events such as ArmenTech, DigiTech, StartUp Mixers, Product BootCamps, Hackathons, StartUp Competitions, EIF Funding Matches, Developer Labs, etc. that brought quite a lot of energy to Yerevan’s tech community.
ENCOURAGING EXAMPLES OF SUCCESS TO CONSOLIDATE AND MULTIPLY
There are amazing efforts that can and must be replicated across Armenia to accelerate the positive evolution and growth of Armenian society. I’ve listed the most notable positive initiatives and organizations that focus on creating the future of Armenia.
Here are some great examples:
TUMO Center for Creative Technologies:
The masterminds behind TUMO, Sam and Sylva Simonian realized early that the only path for the future of Armenia is to focus on kids and new technologies. In this center roughly 6000 kids learn animation, web development, gaming and film/video production and other related competencies after school. Just take a look at TUMO’s site or Facebook page (with more than 31,000 likes) and you’ll fast learn that it has become the premier community center for all things tech, design, music, and just plain cool… Collectively we should replicate this success across Armenia (inclusive of Artsakh).
OneArmenia:
The brainchild of Patrick Sarkissian of New York-based SarkissianMason Digital Advertising Agency, has become one of the premier global Armenian brands in just two years of existence funding several hundred thousand dollars worth of great community projects in Armenia, ranging from building a kindergarten in Moshatagh, Artsakh, to funding women’s shelters, to its most recent campaign supporting the work of SistemaArmenia https://www.facebook.com/onearmenia.
SistemaArmenia: CREATIVE NATION PROGRAM
What began just as a dream for musician-pianist Anna Mikaeilan-Meschian and conductor David Malek just a year ago became a full reality after a lot of hard work in 2013 and its now gathering momentum in 2014 with a successful OneArmenia campaign that raised more than $13,000 in funding new instruments for young musicians. These young musicians have been performing in major venues in Yerevan and also in different communities and even streets to bring the joy of music to Armenian residents. Check them out and see some amazing performances. https://www.facebook.com/SistemaArmenia
TEDxYerevan:
The indomitable spirit of Kristine Sargsyan and here team has been organizing several events for the past 4 years. Conducting TEDxKids events in remote areas of Armenia and the annual TEDxYErevan at the TUMO Center, Kristine and her team continue to bring new ideas, hope and community to the creative class of Armenia. Additionally, Kristine and her team have already translated hundreds of TED talks into Armenian so they are accessible for Armenians that are not English-speaking. Check out several talks on their site https://www.tedxyerevan.com/ and also vist their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TEDxYerevan
AYB School:
The dedication and love with which Fr. Mesrop Aramyan and his staff put in developing the AYB School into a world-class college preparatory is simply awe-inspiring. All it takes is one visit to this school to imagine the possibilities for the future of Armenian education. In just a few short years AYB students have proven themselves in national, regional and international academic competitions. What is most impressive is the values with which the students grow at AYB School. Its not just academics and its not just individual achievement. It’s about community. Check out the AYB School and see if you might want to get involved somehow. https://aybschool.am/
BirthrightArmenia:
This amazing organization has brought over 900 volunteers to Armenia over the past few years. The founder of BirthrightArmenia, Edele Hovnanian, recently announced full funding plans for increasing the annual volunteer numbers to 300 in 2014 immediately and to double again in 2015. What a fantastic opportunity for young people to deeply experience Armenia over a long period of time, while learning valuable and marketable skills for their chosen careers. Check out.
https://www.birthrightarmenia.org/
https://www.facebook.com/BirthrightArmenia
Teach for Armenia: Bringing the Best College Grads to the Most-in-Need Students
Teach for Armenia is the creation of Teach for America alum Larisa Ryan who has been working on bringing this innovative approach to education to Armenia’s poorest students. Larisa is in the process of fundraising to kick this off in 2015 and you can learn more by going to the links below.
https://www.facebook.com/TeachForArmenia
https://www.teachforamerica.org/
Save Teghut Forest: Environmental Activism
In 2103 & 2014 Armenian environmental and civic activists became even stronger using the power of social media to raise awareness to dangers of unregulated mining. The youth energy in these movements can only be encouraged, supported and celebrated, because they are a clear sign of engaged citizenry with shared values.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/207369279360129/
Armenian Tree Project: Planting Millions of Trees to Rebuild Our Environment
No one can argue against the fact that our current focus on the mining sector as the main engine of our economy can have disastrous consequences for generations to come. ATP is the right solution for sustainability of Armenia’s environment for generations to come. Just take a look at all the great work that they do.
https://www.armeniatree.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/armeniatree
RepatArmenia: Advocating and Assisting Returning Armenians
This organization while a new one is doing a fantastic job bringing repats together in Armenia already and also assisting others that would like to return to find their bearings as fast as possible. https://www.facebook.com/RepatArmenia
CARING AND COMPASSION DOES NOT TAKE THAT MUCH EFFORT!
I guess a key engine of collaboratively creating a bright and prosperous future begins with caring and compassion for everyone we encounter, beyond the close family-clan relationships. This same caring and compassion can also sustain us in a long-term quest that is sure to have monumental challenges personally and nationally.
Commitment, Creativity, Community and Competence, all have caring as a pre-requisite. One must care deeply about something to be committed to its realization, to marshal the creativity that would be required to find solutions and new approaches, and to be willing to honor every member of the community as one honors and respects oneself.
And finally, a few words about competence!
Just declaring that we “know” something is not sufficient to actually be competent in something. We live in a world that increasingly demands competence and highly skilled and productive professionals. The good news is that it’s never been easier to access the knowledge and training and opportunities to obtain this competence. One MUST however be willing to invest the time and focus to methodically pursue these competencies. Here are a few resources:
www.Coursera.org Take 596 College courses from 108 top universities for FREE!
www.edx.org Take great online courses from the best universities in the world! Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, etc. for FREE!
www.codeacademy.com Learn to code for FREE!
And many, many more resources that just require an internet connection and will!
One of my earliest bosses once told me: “If you are not willing to invest in yourself, how do you expect others to invest in you?”
Take this one statement and apply it to all of us: “If we are not willing to invest in ourselves, our communities and our country, how do we expect others to do it for us?”
This is the main challenge before us individually and collectively as a nation! And it’s a rewarding and enjoyable challenge at that! We have the opportunity to influence and why not create the future of our country and our global culture in a positive and transformative manner!
The solutions to all of our problems lies within us, and our willingness to commit create and collaborate! And above all care!
_________________
Alfred Eisaian is the Co-founder of US operating company “IconApps” and the founder of “Integrien” . He is an acknowledged entrepreneur and an investor. A series of IT companies were established and jobs were created in Armenia owing to his efforts. “Integrien”, founded by Alfred Eisaian was acquired in 2010 by Vmware leading international company providing cloud technologies. The latter intends to make an investment of 100 million dollars in the coming four years.
