Armenian Diaspora Opinion Survey Results Published

The Armenian Diaspora Survey (ADS) published the results of a first ever survey, which provides a snapshot of the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the Armenian world in the 21^st century.
The 150-page Armenian Diaspora Opinion, Pilot Project 2018 includes six thematic chapters—on identity, language and culture, religion, community, politics and relations with Armenia—and the full results of the pilot survey conducted in May and June 2018 in Boston, Cairo, Marseilles and Pasadena. There are sections on research methodology, profiles of the communities in the four cities and the entire questionnaire. Published by the Armenian Institute in London, the report is available to the public (downloadable for free).

Thousands of People Take Part in First “Armenian Culture Week” at Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

The first ever Armenian Culture Week (12-19 October 2014) at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation generated much excitement and interest in Lisbon. Sixteen events took place in eight days, including concerts, lectures, seminars and exhibitions.
“It was an intense week,” said Razmik Panossian, the Director of the Armenian Communities Department, “as we brought to Portugal various aspects of Armenia culture and history. I was truly and pleasantly surprised at the great interest the Week generated among the general public and among my colleagues at the Foundation.” 

A Bold New Plan: Interview with Razmik Panossian

 Nanore Barsoumian

As Diasporan Armenian organizations struggle to shift their focus to better accommodate the needs facing Armenians worldwide—both in the independent republics, as well as in communities faced with renewed challenges—the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation recently drafted a bold five-year plan of action that it hopes will “create a viable future for the Armenian people.” Mindful of the challenges ahead, the foundation’s director of Armenian communities, Razmik Panossian, discussed the plan in a Skype interview with the Armenian Weekly.

"A Boost to Western Armenian Language and Culture"

In a recent commentary in The Armenian Mirror-Spectator (December 28, 2013), Edmond Y. Azadian talked about the current challenges to Western Armenian, a language which has been sustained by a diaspora spread across a number of continents but with no remaining center.

The Programming Plan of the Armenian Communities Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation for the next five years is to reinforce Western Armenian by focusing on education and technology, to ensure that it does not go the way of other languages that have perished after three generations without a sizable, concentrated community. Azadian highlighted the Department's approach and how it is different to that of other diasporan institutions: