ARF Archives Open to the Public for First Time

Aram Arkun

 

For the first time in their history, a substantial portion of the archives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and the first Republic of Armenia, held in the Hairenik Building in Watertown, have been opened to the public. On the evening of October 25, leaders of Boston-area Armenian organizations were invited to the Papken Suni Armenian-American Social Club for a wine-and-cheese reception and a first look at the archives next door. The event was intended as an educational part of the celebration of the centennial of the first Republic of Armenia.

Second Annual Armenian Genealogy Conference Takes Place in Detroit

Amanda Berger

 

The second annual Armenian Genealogy Conference took place at the University of Michigan-Dearborn on March 18, while several related events were held in the Detroit area throughout the weekend. The conference was sponsored by the Armenian Research Center at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and co-sponsored by the Cultural Society of Armenians from Istanbul, the Nor Keghi Association, and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR). Over 250 people from 18 states attended the conference.

Tracing Family Roots: First-Ever Armenian Genealogy Conference to Be Held on April 9

The Armenian Genealogy Conference will take place April 9-10 in Watertown. The conference, which grew out of the Armenian Genealogy group on Facebook, will feature several speakers on various topics regarding Armenian genealogy, history, geography, and presentations on different organizations and initiatives.

George Aghjayan, a retired actuary and one of the conference organizers, noted that the study of Armenian genealogy has grown substantially over the last decade, and that organizing a conference was a necessary step. “Advances in technology have allowed access to information previously thought unattainable,” said Aghjayan, who hopes that the conference can become an annual event.

The Blackberries of Kharpert

Eric Nazarian

 

It’s been an unspeakably bloody summer in the Middle and Near East. The awful war in Gaza, the beheading of James Foley, the sniper shootings on border villagers in Tavush, the endless mayhem and quagmire of Syria, the micro-war between Armenia and Azerbaijan inflamed by Aliyev’s Twitter threats to bomb Yerevan, and the Yezidi genocide perpetrated by ISIS that has created mushrooming humanitarian disasters all over the region.

Dink Commemoration and Demonstration Held in Ankara

On January 18, 2014 a conference was organized by the Ankara Freedom to Thought Initiative and National Congress of Western Armenians at the Alba Hotel in Ankara. Scholars, human rights activists and journalists from around Turkey came together to mark the anniversary of the assassination of Hrant Dink.