Society

Louis Sullivan

Housing designer in the Johnathan Hay Centre that provided a "culturally specific living" for laborers and migrants from the countryside.

Jobs Can Be Fun or
The Art of Co-working

May 2022

Launched in 2016, Impact Hub Yerevan is a social innovation center and community dedicated to supporting social impact projects and businesses that contribute to Armenia's good growth. Currently, there are almost 100 to 120 individuals working in the Hub. "Our main goal is to build community and bring all of our members together in an environment where they can discuss ideas, share time, and develop shared interests," says Gevorg Poghosyan, the CEO of Impact Hub Yerevan. "We select members of our community based on the influence their activities have on society. They should also be unique, ready to make changes and be open to introducing new values to the community.”

Working may be tiresome, but if you do it in the right place, it may become a fun and beautiful process. The emergence of co-working made a paradigm shift in the concept of working itself, with the presence of an office becoming a non-essential tool for enterprises and inventors. In Armenia, the concept of a co-working space was not well-known. However, Impact Hub Yerevan was one of the earliest pioneers among Armenian co-working spaces.

Photo taken by Heghinar Melkom Melkomian

Louis Sullivan

Housing designer in the Johnathan Hay Centre that provided a "culturally specific living" for laborers and migrants from the countryside.

1986

Impact Hub hosts community activities twice a month to allow members to learn more about one another and create a dynamic and stimulating environment. They also host major events like the Christmas Bazaar, where different social change-makers introduce their products.Aside from that, it offers its members an annual fellowship program through which they can gain professional skills in the industries in which they work. "Our members have the chance to participate in a free one-year fellowship and take advantage of all of Impact Hub's perks for a year. This is the greatest environment for those who want to learn and develop further or meet like-minded people," says Anasheh Hakhverdyan, the Fellowship manager of Impact Hub Yerevan.

This co-working space is also a great place to meet new people and learn from their experiences and knowledge. "Our society is very confined and even those who work together do not know much about one another. There is a lack of network among the members of the society, " says Artem Tadevosyan, a member of Impact Hub. "Impact Hub does a fantastic job of connecting people of the community, which is critical in today's society." According to Tadevosyan, Impact Hub also helps to save money because there is no need to hire an office, as there are numerous different working and conference rooms available, as well as all necessary working facilities.

Entrepreneurs can use Impact Hub to raise their brand awareness among the Hub's community members. Aside from that, members have the opportunity to seek diverse professional assistance from one another, as there is a variety of specialists from many campaigns. Social workers benefit greatly from co-working spaces since they may always freshen their ideas, become motivated, and seek further development in their specialties. Members will barely become tired of the same surroundings because they will be working alongside people from other professions and campaigns. Instead, they will make friends and interact with people who share common interests.

Irina Babayan

Co-working helps the members to broaden their perspectives and look further into different professional fields. The members enjoy seeing people working in other fields and changing their everyday social environments. “I like seeing people who work in fields other than IT in the same environment because, as an IT specialist, it is often hard to believe that there are people who do not work in IT," Ben Karamyan, a member of Impact Hub says while laughing. “Thanks to this place, I get a broader understanding of what people do in Armenia and what impact it has on the society, ” he adds.

Photo taken by Heghinar Melkom Melkomian

Housing designer in the Johnathan Hay Centre that provided a "culturally specific living" for laborers and migrants from the countryside.

1986

Millennials and Zoomers: Do We Really Have Those Generational Distinctions in Armenia?

May 2022

Armenia’s population has been divided into the old and the new: the generation before and the generation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the age of globalization and technology, Armenia is on the way to escaping the Soviet Culture, a significant part of the youth identifies themselves with the American term “Gen Z.” Such generational labels like Millennials and the Gen X-ers are American terms in global use. Yet, can we really identify with the American generational typology in Armenia?

According to Howe and Strauss, there are three things making up a generational group: the perceived membership, common beliefs and behaviors as well as the common location in history. The perceived membership is the extent the group identifies with each other, common beliefs are about the group’s attitude to things like for example sex, drugs, and tradition. The common location in history has to do with the historical events impacting the generation, for example, the collapse of the Soviet Union or the Vietnam war. Thus, the generational timeline follows certain events in American history that shaped a big group of people.

Photo taken by Heghinar Melkom Melkomian

Louis Sullivan

Housing designer in the Johnathan Hay Centre that provided a "culturally specific living" for laborers and migrants from the countryside.

1986

Globalization prevails, we start identifying with the stereotypes about the American generations more so does the Armenian Gen Z (1996-2012). Stereotypically, Gen Z cares deeply about social justice, wears baggy clothes and colorful makeup. More and more Armenian teens follow those trends. 16-year old Lolita Gubryan claims that she got inspired to follow that style from her other Gen Z peers on Tiktok. Lolita added “Our generation is more educated and open-minded so it’s an act of gathering against the beliefs that older generations impose upon us.” Tiktok is considered the “predominantly Gen Z platform” considering that almost 43% of Tiktok’s user base is between 19-24 years of age.
Another Gen Z-er, 19-year old Elina Yerkanyan says “I have cousins born in the 1990s and to be honest, I haven’t noticed much difference between us because we share a lot of culture together.” Elina insists that Armenians born in the 1990s and 2000s have been exposed to the same kind of novelties. “When it comes to mindset, I feel like our generation is more open-minded; they are a bit behind. But actually, overall, we don’t differ much” concludes Elina. 19-year-old Sona Grigoryan thinks the difference between Armenian Gen Zs and Millennials is bigger. She says, “Because they were way more connected to the Soviet Union and we are way more connected to Americanization because of the internet.” She thinks that they are both colonized by someone in a way, just not by the same people.

Millennials stereotypically can’t get over their pumpkin spice latte, skinny jeans and side parted hair. In America "technology started being in massive use in the early 90s, that’s why Millenials are otherwise called “digital natives.” Armenians had technology a bit later after the economic crisis from the collapse of the Soviet Union. After the early 2000s, technology started to get more democratized, computers and cellphones became available. Kids born in the late 2000s were calming down by watching “Masha and the Bear” as a toddler and social media was widely used at the time. The Armenian digital natives were born after 2004, they experienced the effects of globalization. People that had more exposure to technology and other cultures ended up more in like GenZ-ers in America. Elina Yerkanyan said “especially 14-year old are very bold, voicing thoughts that we wouldn’t have as 14 year olds.”

The historical moment making the generation shift was the collapse of the Soviet Union: the ideological change from communism to capitalism and navigating in independent Armenia. Some youngsters exposed to the internet identify with the American Gen Z-ers, some have been exposed to their parents’ way of thinking so they identify with the mindset of their Soviet-brought parents. We are in a constant search of ourselves as Armenians, especially at the times when Armenian identity is under threat.

Nadezhda Zargaryan

Photo taken by Heghinar Melkom Melkomian

Louis Sullivan

1986

The Life and Approach of Professors

May 2022

Not all heroes wear capes and not all professors are seen for what they truly are. They consistently stand as pillars and do this with their entire being.

Professors are highly admirable people. They are the base for the forming of most future professionals and discoveries. While teaching, they do research and take care of the world by staying curious and active. It is them that stand for the motto that says if you want to change the world, you first need to change yourself. Professors attempt to continue to grow individually in order to help the world grow academically, scientifically and socially. Professor Daghlian and Dr. Melkonian are lecturers at the American University of Armenia. Besides being lecturers, they hold other positions as well at AUA. Their role as part of AUA takes place in various ways, even in unexpected ones.

Housing designer in the Johnathan Hay Centre that provided a "culturally specific living" for laborers and migrants from the countryside.

Dr. Melkonian currently is the dean of General Education and lectures Topics in Cinema. Initially, Dr. Melkonian did not decide to become a professor, she had decided to create a path towards education. She received all of her higher education in the US. She did her bachelor, masters and doctorate at three different universities. At the time when she moved to Armenia and came to AUA, the university was developing an undergraduate program as it used to only provide a graduate program. For Dr. Melkonian, it was very exciting to work with a university that was developing something from scratch. During that time, AUA was reaffirming as an accreditation besides developing an undergraduate program. And while working on developing new programs and courses, she became highly curious about some of these courses. She had taught before, yet not on a university level. The potential that AUA had to make a difference deeply inspired her. Thus, prompting her to become a lecturer at this university.
Dr. Melkonian thinks that AUA’s small scale is what makes AUA special. The university has around 2000 students and not as many academic programs if compared to other American universities. She highly values how accessible the faculty members are for students thanks to the university’s small scale. She thinks this is key in undergraduate education, that this is what makes it work well. Additionally, she clearly notices how AUA’s instructors commit to attentively guiding their students.

Photo taken by Heghinar Melkom Melkomian

Louis Sullivan

Housing designer in the Johnathan Hay Centre that provided a "culturally specific living" for laborers and migrants from the countryside.

1986

According to Dr. Melkonian, the instructors and other faculty members at AUA have sufficient opportunities to get to know their colleagues. AUA’s Office of Institutional Research hosts professional development workshops for faculty members. There, the faculty discuss current pedagogy strategies, news and research. Also, regular faculty meetings are organized. Faculty members also have a faculty lounge where they can have lunch, rest on their own, or socialize with others. This lounge was built recently, when AUA also built their student union space. Faculty members even have the opportunity to go on an annual retreat to spend time together.

Although Dr. Melkonian loves her job, she finds it hard when students do not actively engage. She wishes to reach every student and wants everybody to succeed. She mentions “We are here to support you in being where you want to be in your study.” She highly enjoys individual interactions on AUA’s campus and is curious to know what students want to do next on their journeys. She wishes for her students to be candid with her but most importantly to themselves about the bigger questions in life, the tough ones.

Professor Daghlian lectures Freshman Seminar and is the coordinator of its program. She is also the General Education advisor. She majored in English Writing and Literature in the US and has been an editor for many years. When she came to Armenia, she volunteered at the Center for Open Education, formerly known as the Extension Department, at AUA. There, she developed courses for adults outside of the degree setting.She loved the environment at AUA and right after finishing her volunteer work, she tried to find ways to get involved. As a result, she applied and became an instructor for the Freshman Seminar course. She then was asked to lecture the Public Speaking course as well, which she did for a while, after which she was offered a job as a coordinator for the Freshman Seminar course. And it was after she became the General Education advisor that her job became full-time with these three half-time positions that she kept. She shares that the Freshman Seminar course actually used to be called Freshman English. The name was changed because it confused people regarding what it aims to teach. Its aim is to improve communication skills and is taught to all first-year bachelor students.

Biaini Sepoyan

1986

Also, Professor Daghlian likes that within her job in academia, there is a lot of freedom for a lecturer in terms of time management. Lecturers have their offices for when they are not lecturing. Part-time lecturers share their office with more than two people and full-time lecturers have their own office. Most of the lecturers like to visit each other’s offices to spend time together.The dean builds the schedule and discusses with the lecturers if the given times are suitable for them. Besides their classes, lecturers have office hours that form a total of two hours per week. Professor Daghlian finds it a pity that not many students attend these office hours and says she is ready to help any student for as long as they need during an office hour.

She loves interacting with students. She mentions that students should not be shy to approach their professors outside of class, for instance at the cafeteria. She loves the cafeteria and mentions that if she would not like for students to approach her there, she simply would not go there as she could eat at the faculty lounge as well.
Dr. Melkonian wants her students to know that besides AUA’s main mission, faculty are people too and that they truly want students to be the best possible individual that they can be in life. And Professor Daghlian says that her job at AUA is the best job she ever had and wishes to tell her students “There is nothing you cannot do, as long as you are curious about it.”

Photo taken by Heghinar Melkom Melkomian

Louis Sullivan

Housing designer in the Johnathan Hay Centre that provided a "culturally specific living" for laborers and migrants from the countryside.

1986

Gor Melikyan:
Living and Working with Disabilities

May 2022

Gor Melikyan is a very smart person, who speaks four languages fluently: Armenian, Russian, English and German and is hoping for an inclusive Armenia and open-minded Armenian people.

Gor was born in 1994 in Yerevan, Armenia. When he was 4-years-old, his parents realized that he was not walking very well. In Armenia they went to six different doctors over the year, however, none of them could give them the right diagnosis. Then they went to the Noraguygh Rehabilitation Center where one doctor eventually did get the right diagnosis, which was cerebral palsy. Gor remembering that time said, “ I did not understand what was happening, but my parents were downhearted, and so was I. I did not understand that my life will completely change from now on.” Throughout his life, Gor had three surgeries on his hip and legs. At the age of 5, Gor started going to public kindergarten, where he was extremely happy with his classmates, but not with his teachers. His teachers did not want to help him wear his weights for his legs. However, Gor does not put the blame on his teachers, but he blames the lack of education in Armenia. Then at the age of 7 Gor started going to elementary school. At first, the school was terrible. ”There were times when my classmates were bullying me,” Gor said, “but I was smarter than they were, I wasn’t paying much attention to them, moving forward.”

After school graduation, Gor got accepted into Yerevan State University where he majored in foreign relations. In 2015, Gor and his parents went to Germany for treatment for a few months. He couldn’t have imagined how different Germany would be in comparison to Armenia. “For example, in Germany people in public transportation would give me a place to sit where it says ‘Only disabled people,’” Gor said, “Whereas in Armenia you will have to literally fight for your seat.” He thinks it is an educational and cultural problem. After coming back to Armenia, Gor was ready to fight for equality. So he started going out a lot for Armenian people to see that there are many people that have physical disabilities. Gor knows a lot of people with physical disabilities who don't go out much since some are ashamed of themselves, while others have parents who are ashamed of their child. He feels that this is a problem because as a result, society doesn't know how to communicate with those people. Nevertheless, his parents were never ashamed of him and he could go out whenever he wanted. Gor's father is a wrestling coach. When he was little, Gor and his father would go to training sessions together where he'd run and do other activities. Gor graduated from Yerevan State University in 2019. Now he is working in the Municipality of Jrvezh as an assistant to the Head of Community.

When asked about discrimination in Armenia, Gor said that sometimes he gets evasive looks and sometimes when people ask him what is wrong with him, he tries to give a sarcastic response. “In Armenia, there are two types of people, those who are from Soviet, and those who are not,” he said, “However, mainly people who were born in USSR look at me more often than those who were not.” Gor also does not like it when a stranger on the street comes to him saying that they will pray for him.
Gor goes to the public fitness club three times a week. He lost 26 kilograms of weight in a year. His coach Hovhaness Avagyan said, “The greatest victory is not winning against people. But winning against yourself.”

Areg Barseghyan

Louis Sullivan

Housing designer in the Johnathan Hay Centre that provided a "culturally specific living" for laborers and migrants from the countryside.

1986

Religion in the Eyes of Society

May 2022

Religion is a type of social awareness; it is the science of man's oneness with God, which is solely dependent on faith. There are over 10,000 different faiths around the globe. Approximately 84 percent of the world's population practices Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or folk religion. Each religion has its history and ideas; each plays a critical role in society, particularly in the state, because religion is not only a religious philosophy but also one of the most effective ways to bring people together. Armenia accepted Christianity in 301 AD, and it is often regarded as the most strong stimulus for the country's survival and prosperity. However, despite religion's relevance, sometimes the relationship between mankind and the church is not necessarily what religion indicates.

Armenia erected a lot of churches and monasteries as the first state to accept Christianity, and the country is still known as a Christian state. However, the varied views of society regarding churches may be seen with the naked eye.
According to Deacon David, who serves in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, people frequently participate in ceremonies in the holy center, though “people’s description as a Christian is extremely frail, and their spine is quite unstable." According to the deacon, the one redeeming feature is that many people came to the church of their own free will, without being persuaded by anybody, yet their spiritual education is frequently evident. "Many people attend church rituals in Etchmiadzin, yet I frequently observe them just crossing themselves or casually watching the ceremony."

A Servant of the Gegharkunik Diocese who serves at the Surb Astvatsatsin Church in Gavar spoke about Gavar’s spiritual life. According to him, in each region of Armenia, a particular mindset exists in relation to the various realities of the people in that location, which "influences" the "Church-Society" relationship. "Unfortunately, the flow of people to the church is low in our region. There is a noticeable crowd only at Christmas and Easter services, but on ordinary rituals a much smaller number attend church.” According to the Deacon, this fact is due in part to the fact that the majority of the local population is engaged in agricultural work abroad, which makes it practically difficult to attend the regular Sunday services regularly.

Men's poor attendance is frequently linked to their acceptance of religion as a majestic, superior entity. People don’t seem to grasp much since religion appears to be something beautiful and unreachable, and he can't seem to reach out and touch your heart until the end. This is frequently one of the causes of the lack of a true religious connection between individuals. A human, according to the Deacon of Gavar, is always looking for something. There are some questions that, no matter how hard a person tries to discover solutions to, the answers to which continue to fascinate us throughout our lives. The second reason is that the world's delights frequently prevent us from attending church regularly to develop our profound connection. People believe that many religious practices are onerous and would make life tough, yet the contrary might be true, according to him. People will be able to live in greater peace.

When individuals abandon Christian dogma, they frequently construct their own stereotypes and begin to live by them, even though they have nothing to do with the religion's genuine theory. It all stems from a lack of awareness and a deep commitment to the church. We have been deprived of spiritual instruction for years, according to Deacon David, and now there are indications of superstitions. People once attempted to employ religious concepts without the assistance of clergy. "There are Armenians from Hamshen who have been celebrating the beginning of Easter since the genocide. People in the Tavush area celebrate Vardavar on a specific day that does not correlate to our calendar.”
Of course, Deacon David believes that being literate is the answer to all of this. The saying of Yeghishe is absolutely appropriate. "Every bad thing comes into a person because of their unawareness."

When speaking about the superstitions in the Gavar region, the Deacon of the Gegharkunik Diocese, also thinks that the atheism of the Soviet era had a significant influence on all of this. For example, avoiding painting Easter eggs for the newly dead person, stopping the automobile delivering the dead person, lifting the dead person from the car to the church, spreading the blood of the sacrificed animal on the child's forehead, taking the sacrificial animal to the church, etc. "All this does not correspond to the Christian teaching. Over the years, all this becomes stronger in the society, it becomes more difficult to convince them otherwise,” says the Servant of the Gegharkunik Diocese. According to him, the image of a woman is often portrayed in many ways in society and religion, but there is no reference of a woman's incapacity in the Bible. In the tale of human creation, on the other hand, he makes Eve from Adam's rib, which is seen as a sign of equality between men and women in Christianity.
The apostle Paul said, "He who loves his wife loves himself, there is no one who hates himself." Servant of the Gegharkunik Diocese believes that there is a misunderstanding in Armenian society that a woman should always be submissive to a man; she should not have the freedom to voice her opinion And she should humbly follow, which contradicts Christian beliefs.

Religions are one of the most effective methods for individuals to get clarity in their lives and to live in some degree of peace. Regardless of religious ideas, people can often stray from the path of righteousness, unwittingly generating caricatures that may have little to do with reality. Nonetheless, religion continues to play a vital role around the globe.

Greta Sargsyan

Photo taken by Greta Sargsyan

Louis Sullivan

Housing designer in the Johnathan Hay Centre that provided a "culturally specific living" for laborers and migrants from the countryside.

1986

With Adulthood,
Immunization Becomes Unimportant

Immunization helps save millions of lives globally every year. According to the WHO, vaccinations help prevent two to three million deaths annually from twenty life-threatening diseases such as measles, diphtheria, polio, meningitis and influenza. Immunization also plays a pivotal role in controlling and preventing infectious-disease outbreaks. Without exposure to the disease itself, with its possible negative consequences, vaccines help the immune system to create antibodies against the disease.

The needs of each country are unique when it comes to vaccines against infectious diseases. According to 2018 data, Armenia has 95 percent national immunization coverage courtesy of the Armenian Ministry of Health and UNICEF efforts. Because of high immunization rates, the country is polio-free since 2002, measles-free since 2007, and has not had a single case of diphtheria or tetanus since 2007. Nine out of ten Armenian children aged two to three are fully vaccinated as per WHO recommendations.

"UNICEF's ultimate goal is to ensure vaccination for all children worldwide to stop child mortality and disability from preventable diseases,” UNICEF Health and Nutrition Specialist Liana Hovakimyan says. The organization operates with the same mission in Armenia. It supports the Armenian Government in strengthening immunization services and maintaining high coverage of vaccines. For this purpose, UNICEF supports the Armenian Government in procuring all routine and non-routine vaccines and ensuring uninterrupted vaccine deployment to the country. UNICEF delivers over one million doses of vaccines annually to Armenia.

The organization's support is not just limited to vaccine procurement. UNICEF in Armenia cooperates with the Armenian Ministry of Health to promote immunization and mitigate the anti-vaccination movement and parental hesitancy through parental education services established throughout the country. "Anti-vaccination and parental hesitancy have grown in Armenia in recent years," Hovakimyan says.

Over the past decade, and even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Armenia has maintained over 90 percent of full vaccination for children up until the age of six. After the age of six6, people should get booster shots once every ten years, as per Armenia's vaccination schedule for young children, adolescents and adults. Without getting booster shots, protection starts to wear off. The 90 percent vaccination rate disappears with adulthood as people do not get their boosters. "Unfortunately, there are no effective mechanisms to ensure that adults adhere to the vaccination schedule once past the age of adolescence," Hovakimyan says.

At the age of 15, school nurses inform children that the time has come for them to visit their local polyclinic to get their booster shots. Nineteen-year-old Nadezhda Zargaryan recalls that fourdays after turning 15, her father took her to the polyclinic to get vaccinated. No one told her anything about the importance of the vaccination or about booster shots that she would require in the future. "I don't even know what I received. They only told me that it was mandatory," Zargaryan says.

Eighteen-year-old males need to pass rigorous medical examinations to qualify as healthy to serve in the army. Before deployment, they also need to receive a set of vaccines and booster shots. Since military service is mandatory in Armenia, all young men pass this medical examination. This process ensures that, although indirectly, young male adults receive their adolescent booster shots.

Heghinar Melkom Melkomian

A few months ago, in preparation for his upcoming military service, Aksel Khemchyan was called in to get vaccinated against Mumps, Measles, Rubella, Hepatitis A, Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG - vaccine primarily against tuberculosis). He recalls that he was immunized against BCG at 15, after receiving a reminder call from his local polyclinic. Just like Zargaryan, 17-year-old Khemchyan also says that none of the healthcare providers he encountered two years ago and during his recent medical check-ups informed him about the requirement of future vaccination shots.

When large portions of the population living in the same area receive vaccination and become immune to a certain disease, herd immunity occurs. These community members prevent the spread of the disease and, by doing so, save the lives of those who cannot get vaccinated for various medical reasons.

With over 90 percent vaccination, Armenia has herd immunity against the Mumps, Measles, Rubella and BCG. However, Hovakimyan says that when adults fail to get their booster shots, they jeopardize herd immunity. It is necessary to raise adults' awareness about their role as herd immunity gatekeepers. “The sole responsibility of parents is not only to protect their children by getting them vaccinated but also to get vaccinated themselves to maintain herd immunity for their children and other members of society,” Hovakimyan says.

Housing designer in the Johnathan Hay Centre that provided a "culturally specific living" for laborers and migrants from the countryside.

1986

Yerevan: Changing Visions and Ideologies Reflected in Urban Planning

Although Yerevan is over 2800 years old, its shape and form today were mostly constructed in the last 100 years. The way modern Yerevan looks was shaped by Alexander Tamanian and his vision. Throughout the years the plans changed. The streets of Yerevan are full of unique architecture that sprawled throughout the decades of the 20th century and beyond.

The way Yerevan was developing as a city changed multiple times throughout the 20th century. In the early 1920s, as Tamanian had relocated to Armenia he was later recruited to be one of the leading architects of the city. European cities that sprawled after castles were the main inspiration for the original plan that Tamanian laid out. He worked with what already existed in the central streets and avenues of the city, working to enlarge, and eventually envelop the small central part of town with a Circular Park, remnants of which are still called by this name today.

By the mid-1930s, the goals of Yerevan’s urban planning were starting to shift. From Constructivism into Stalinism. In 1936, Tamanian passed away. Thus, his original idea could never be completed. No longer was Tamanian’s Armenian touch going to be leading the city plan. Similarly, although the Soviet Union’s goal was to remove the concept of nationality, Margarita Arustamyan, an expert in Architectural history, says that Armenians among other nationalities were still able to maintain a unique flair and essence. Although the entire post-Soviet bloc is full of panel buildings, in every country they are different. City planners were given some choice in what buildings to utilize from a series of readily available plans.

During the late 70s, the focus of the city planners shifted. With Khrushchev essentially declaring that there should be housing for all soviet citizens, the famous Soviet panel buildings were constructed. In other districts of Yerevan, the construction and locations of the houses being more spaced out and better planned resulted in a more harmonious distribution of buildings.

Urban planning is a long and sophisticated process that takes years of development, and years of implementation. Plans are often drafted that could take decades to complete. The main problem is that in the last century no long-term plan could ever be completed totally because the needs of the city and the ideology of the government changed quicker than the construction was completed. The lack of a consistent and adapting vision prevented the central part of Yerevan from looking harmonious and planned. At the same time, the constant shifts of ideologies also left certain areas and districts in disarray. The much older district of Kond is still dilapidated today. There are pre-Tamanian buildings on a couple of central streets in terrible conditions next to freshly constructed high-rises.

The ideology shifted yet again. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the independence of Armenia the architectural vision of the city was lost once again. Now as Margarita Arustamyan says, the client is the one dictating how and what their new high-rise will have. Rather than an architect carefully considering the effects of their new construction on surrounding areas. Sahrat Petrosyan agrees with that. Both architects believe that urban development problems can be fixed and improved if there is a holistic approach to the problems that face Yerevan.

Eduard Betanian

In the 1920s, along with the establishment of the First Republic of Armenia, and subsequent integration of it into the Soviet Union as the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic Armenia needed a well-constructed capital. Yerevan was going to be the 12th capital of the Armenian people. By the early 1920s, Yerevan was the home to about 30,000 people. In comparison, there are over a million people living in Yerevan today.

Photo taken by Eduard Betanian

Contrary to that, the panel buildings of central Yerevan were built wherever there was enough space to add a new building. Often this did not fit well in terms of architectural style, and the city planners were not concerned with that fact either.

Photo taken by Eduard Betanian

Housing designer in the Johnathan Hay Centre that provided a "culturally specific living" for laborers and migrants from the countryside.

1986

Hitchiker’s Guide to the Culture of Armenia

One of the most fascinating and, unfortunately, not outspoken enough beauties of Armenian society is its inclination towards art. The vast majority of people throughout the globe know or at least have heard about the famous 19th-century painting "The Ninth Wave" by Aivazovsky, yet not everyone is aware that he was, in fact, Armenian. Likewise, in contemporary Armenian society, there are many great masterminds of music and paintings that are hiding from the spotlight. One of such people is Ara.

His fascinating composing skills are equally as fascinating as his personal life, background, and his journey from one profession to another. The first encounter with Ara happened around one year ago, at the local Beatles pub, through our mutual friends. The first, and definitely not last, jaw-dropping moment of that day was his childhood stories. Despite the fact that he was of Armenian descent, he was born in Australia after his grandparents' immigrated there after the horrors of the 1915 genocide. Later, at the age of 3, his family relocated to Japan, as his father had a "strange fascination with kung fu, and wanted to become a champion."

"It was a weird time period for our family. My dad wanted to follow his passion, and there was my mum, always being his best supporter. I could never truly understand how a woman with a child could have such courage to completely abandon the lifestyle that she was so used to and move to a world that was so strange to us." When asked whether he held any resentment from constant moving to two completely opposing to each other countries-Australia and Japan-back and forth, Ara replied, "No! Not at all! It was slightly tiring because once you get used to one thing and gain friends, it is time to move out again. But, the cool advantage of that was that my native language became Japanese, and everyone wanted to become my friend, as I had a father who was a black-belt carrier."

After a couple of drinks, Ara opened up more about how his career started, which can be fairly marked as the second jaw-dropping moment of that night. It was fascinating to learn that before becoming a great composer, he was just two steps away from getting finishing his master's degree in law. "I grew up watching courtroom dramas such as Perry Mason and detectives such as Agatha Christie's Poirot, Colombo and reading Enid Blyton's Famous Five, The Secret Seven, and so on. I was inspired to become a criminal lawyer/detective; however, in my final year, when I did work experience at a law firm, I realized it wasn't as exciting as I had envisaged. Long hours, tiresome, monotonous, and very little court time/fieldwork. I then realized becoming a dancer was more my passion and, despite all odds, pursued a successful career in dance and music. After ten years on stage, I retired my dance shoes to further my dreams as a pianist and composer." As Ara further admitted, he has gotten used to a hectic lifestyle because of his upbringing. Thus, he always knew that it would take a while until he settled down for something, for at least over a year. But "because I just cannot get enough of the endless opportunities that the 88 keys of the [piano] keyboard have, I cannot imagine myself ever quitting music, to do something completely unrelated, as I did before."

Our company then had the amazing opportunity of witnessing the maestro in his "natural habitat," aka in front of the piano, in his house, furnished in retro/vintage style. A small tour of his apartment revealed that Ara also has a hobby of collecting different statues of spiders, which seemed odd initially. However, it turned out that Ara strongly believes in fate, specifically in regard to his music. "I think, like all things in life, you must follow your instincts and natural progression of events. Some call it the butterfly effect; others call it fate. Whatever you choose to call it, I believe life is a series of cause and effect, the repercussion of actions. I will give you a small example. When I first moved into my place, I found an old piano in it. It hadn't been played for 50 years and was as good as new; it just needed a tuning. It happened to be a PETROF brand piano, and I recorded a short video and posted it on social media. The next thing I knew, Petrof Pianos in Europe had picked up on it and was in contact with me. That then leads to filming an endorsement for them…, and so goes the chain. There have been many examples of this throughout my life and career."

Tamara Manukyan

It is also worth mentioning that Ara is incredibly good at making an Armenian black coffee, which tastes even better combined on his small balcony, accompanied by the beautiful sound of his piano play.

Photo taken by Tamara Manukyan

Photo taken by Tamara Manukyan

Housing designer in the Johnathan Hay Centre that provided a "culturally specific living" for laborers and migrants from the countryside.

1986

This year’s torchlight procession had a political orientation. The title of the whole event, the speech by Ishkhan Saghatelyan, and the song that people sang at the beginning of the event, Zartnir Lao, was the start of the latest protests happening in Armenia under the opposition’s leadership. The torchlight procession was the start of the protests in Armenia against the current government and its political ideologies.
Torchlight procession does not only happen in Armenia but it is also conducted in various parts of the world where there are Armenian communities. Another participant of the event, by the name of Galy Markarian, who came from Syria and had participated in the torchlight procession that happened there, said that she believes in the justice that will come through courtesy and equal struggle that she and her friends have been facing. With a candle in her hand, she joined the flow of the crowd and carried her candle to the end of the procession.

Shahen Mtafian

At the end of the torchlight procession, people went into the Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex and laid their flowers next to the eternal fire. The event ended up with prayers by those who had walked from the Republic Square to the Tsitsernakaberd memorial complex. Then Ishkhan Saghatelyan informed the torchbearers that their fight against the current government started the minute the torchlight procession started and invited everyone to join him.

Photo taken by Shahen Mtafian

Photo taken by Shahen Mtafian

Photo taken by Shahen Mtafian