Diaspora`s potential must be properly used - Noubar Afeyan

ArmInfo. The Co-Founder of The FUTURE ARMENIAN Initiative Noubar Afeyan is concerned over the trends in the Armenia-Diaspora relations. 

Speaking at a July 7 launch event of the Convention of The Future  Armenian to take place on November 11-13 he pointed out his optimism  about the Armenia-Diaspora relations. However, over thee last one or  two years, he has been concerned over the future cooperation. 

"In the past we used to say that Azerbaijan's power is its oil and  Armenia's is its Diaspora. Jokingly we used to say that the Diaspora  was our oil. The Diaspora may be our oil, but everything will be  futile if we fail to make a proper use of this resource," Afeyan  said. 

The incumbent authorities' problem is they are working on the present  without thinking of the future. There are no long-term projects. The  Diaspora is working at long-term projects, he said.  

"As a Diaspora Armenian I can say that if we put an effort in the  future of Armenia, first of all we should not despair. But we have  the right to be much more demanding so that our investments and our  time have a greater impact. We are viewing our future as an outcome  of present actions. But if we define the future as a goal, and direct  the present actions to reach that goal, completely different  decisions will be made. Since independence, the problems the Republic  of Armenia has been facing were so numerous and complex that the  governments always have been handling crisis situations. The present  made the officials consistently work on the present. In this  situation the Diaspora with its potential can work towards the  future, as it has limited impact on the present. If we find a way to  bridge Armenia and Diaspora - uniting "the future" from Diaspora and  "the present" from Armenia - in my opinion, we will establish a new  model."  

"In the 21st century, new changes have created new realities. During  the last decades, high-tech companies, which have completely novel  approaches, achieved success. Such words as co-working, co-living,  co- sharing are commonly used in technological world, which in  reality emphasize one thing - cooperation. I am confident that we  will succeed in what we have started, as our initiative is based on  cooperation. In new realities nothing is possible without  cooperation," Co-Founder of The FUTURE ARMENIAN Initiative Ruben  Vardanyan mentioned during the panel discussion.  

On November 11-13 the first Convention of The Future Armenian will be  held in Yerevan based on the "citizens' assembly" model of  participatory democracy. The participants of the Convention from the  Republic of Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora will discuss the existing  issues and challenges and will adopt package of proposals to overcome  those challenges. The convention will be preceded by meeting of  expert groups, which will be open for all professionals.

The first convention will focus on the three of the 15 goals set by  The FUTURE ARMENIAN Initiative.  Those goals are the Armenia -  Diaspora Unity, Historic Responsibility and Growing Population.

On 7th of July, Matenadaran Institute of Ancient Manuscripts hosted  the launch event of the Convention of The Future Armenian. The  ceremony signaled the start of submission of applications for  participation, as well as the beginning of the process of forming  expert groups.

The goals of the Convention and the specifics and the of its format -  the citizens assembly model, the application procedure was presented  during the event. A special reference was made on the outcomes of the  Artsakh Forum held in Stepanakert in May 2022 (report on the event  available here).

During "Public Discourses and the Artsakh Forum" panel session the  speakers - Artsakh State Minister Artak Beglaryan, the participant of  the Forum Anahit Mkhitaryan, Co-Founders of The FUTURE ARMENIAN  Initiative Artur Alaverdyan and Aram Bekchian - reflected on the  outcomes of the Artsakh Forum. They also exchanged opinions on the  format of the public discussions and the importance of bringing the  outcomes of those discussions to life.

While referring to the efficiency of the format and the expectations  of the Artsakh society, Artsakh State Minister Artak Beglaryan  stressed: "It was important for us that demography was the chosen  topic of the Forum, as demography is one of the most important  pillars of Artsakh's long-term Armenian future. More importantly, The  FUTURE ARMENIAN conducted that event in cooperation with the Artsakh  authorities, which game an additional practical significance to the  further implementation of the outcomes of the Forum."

The speakers at "The First Convention of The Future Armenian and Its  Topics" panel session - Co- Founders of The FUTURE ARMENIAN  Initiative Noubar Afeyan and Ruben Vardanyan, Director of the  Alikhanyan National Science Laboratory and Chair of the Armenian  Society of Fellows Board Ani Aprahamian and Executive Director of The  Future Armenian Development Foundation Artak Apitonian - reflected  upon the importance of discussion themes of the Convention and the  existing problems.    

The Co-Founder of The FUTURE ARMENIAN Initiative Noubar Afeyan  touched upon the role of Diaspora in Armenia's development,  emphasizing: Maria Titizian, the Editor-in-Chief for the EVN Report,  moderated the panel discussions. The guests of the event had the  opportunity to ask questions to the participants during the Q&A  session.