17-year-old Gevorg Hayrapetyan (in the photo) started a project with his peers, with which they are trying to establish the first great Armenian library of audio books, as well, the special device called «AIR» that enables to “listen” to any book anywhere, at home, at school and on the street. “The idea of starting such a project generated very unexpectedly. During the history class, I brought the earphones close to the book and thought that it would be wonderful if there will be the audio version of this book. And then, I shared my idea with my friends, and now it is three months since we have begun the works,” tells Gevorg.
Gevorg is planning to study at the faculty of Business at the American University of Armenia, and has already started his first steps in business, he has formed a team, presents the project to various companies and organizations, actively attends different exhibitions and conferences with other team members. “We as a start-up company are using all possible means to attract the attention of investors. We have already achieved success in three months. The World Vision Armenia provided funding for renting a recording studio for 2 years. The House of Culture in Zeytun district is already our partner. We are trying to act as active and planned as possible to reach success,” said Gevorg.
The project co-founder, 17-year-old Levon Tadevosyan, who also leads the creative works, stresses the importance of their work. ‘This is a very good opportunity for me and my peers to show our potential. We can create something as a result of our effort and long-term work, which is necessary for the young people, and why not, also for adults. This is an interesting experiment for us, a bold move, but we do not also spare energy for having the library and the device that we were longing to have.”
The team, in addition to George and Levon, involves also other young people, co-founder Flora Babajanyan (a student of Romance-Germanic faculty, YSU), Levon Hovhannisyan (a student of the Business Chair at the American University of Armenia) who is working on the website, apps and device design, as well as Artyom Kosyan (Legal Affairs) and Erik Ananyan (PR). “The name of the project generated from the phrase “Audio Information Reader” that describes the functional significance of the device. «AIR» appliance is already designed. It has the appearance of a watch, very flexible and simple for everyone, irrespective of age and the ability to handle with technologies. Even the visual problems will not prevent enjoying the work of the device,” presents Gevorg telling about the device. The project implementation team has already started the recording work, moreover, they have received orders to prepare several audio books.
If successful, the work will be extended, as well as the team. “This is a good opportunity to “prompt” the investors that there are favorable conditions in Armenia for the development of innovation. We will try our best to justify all the investments,” assures Gevorg, adding that at this moment they need more supporters for developing the project properly.
SHUSHAN ARAMYAN,
Aravot Daily
