Birthright Armenia
Birthright Armenia's mission is to strengthen ties between the homeland and diasporan youth by affording them an opportunity to be a part of Armenia's daily life and to contribute to Armenia's development through work, study and volunteer experiences, while developing a renewed sense of Armenian identity.
Alumni
PRESS RELEASE
BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA
Contact: Linda Yepoyan
April 12, 2007
Phone: 610-642-6633
info@birthrightarmenia.org
BIRTHRIGHT ARMENIA ERASES BORDERS WITH STRONG ALUMNI NETWORK
Birthright Armenia has answered the question on how to bring young Armenian leaders together in both the "virtual" world and the real one, with the formation of an active alumni network that spans the globe. With nearly 200 sponsored Birthright participants from 13 different countries in its network, this challenge has been no small feat for the growing organization. However, by adding new activities to its already successful alumni program, Birthright Armenia has proven that when it comes to making a difference, borders should not mean barriers.
The importance of alumni is not a new premise for the nearly four-year-old organization, as it was founded on a philosophy that only through strong ties to the homeland would young adults be energized to take on leadership positions within the Diaspora. In fact, the idea of a strong alumni network was based on continued youth involvement after completing their initial volunteer service. The ultimate goal? Keep the youth engaged and eventually they would become leaders of the numerous diasporan organizations throughout the world, bridging the gap between countries, languages and beliefs.
Recent AVC volunteer and Birthright Armenia participant Sophie Malkasian, who volunteered with Heifer International in the southern region of Armenia, is one recent example of the success Birthright has achieved with its alumni. After spending nine full months of her one-year internship in tin the village of Getap, Sophie personally raised over $28,000 to move her homestay family in Yeghegnadzor to a home of their own. Now Sophie herself, both living and working in Yerevan, calls Armenia her own home.
Linda Yepoyan, Birthright Armenia's executive director, notes that while volunteers are offered significant opportunities to immerse themselves in Armenian culture through language instruction, havaks, forums, excursions, and homestays during their initial volunteer service, true success will only be realized by helping these volunteers fulfill a lasting impact in both the Homeland and the diasporan communities in which they live. "The biggest assets we have are our alumni and we are constantly looking for opportunities to help them channel their energies" she says.
One of the biggest success stories for Birthright Armenia's program has been its Continuing Involvement Proposal initiative, where each volunteer makes a promise to continuously support the Homeland. Yepoyan states that these "promises" are the result of life-changing experiences. "They feel strongly about spreading the word to others who may not know about all the opportunities to do good in Armenia," she elaborates. While every volunteer is required to complete a Continuing Involvement Proposal, Birthright Armenia has gone one step further in helping volunteers make their proposals become reality. By establishing the Alumni Next Step Fund, former volunteers can apply for monetary assistance up to $2500 for projects benefiting the Armenian community. The decision-making committee for proposals is even staffed entirely with Birthright alumni.
Twenty-four-year-old AVC volunteer and Sacramento native Tamara Shahabian was the first to plant the seed for a future Alumni Next Step project, which is well underway. Her first art show in the spring of 2006 featured artwork created by the children of Gyumri's Aesthetic Center, a school/orphanage that promotes cultural education and development in children and youth from 4 to 20 years of age. With that show resulting in a huge success, she was encouraged to start a new non-profit organization called Artworks Armenia (http://www.artworksarmenia.org ), which kicked off its inaugural art exhibition and sale of Armenian children's art on March 30 in New York City. The show brought in over $10,000, which all goes back to the children in Armenia. Since Tamara's success, there have been several other projects funded, including Seta Iskanderian's Project Harmony, a women's center in Nagorno-Karabagh.
Birthright Armenia is planning its first official alumni reunion in Armenia this summer to run from June 29-July 8, 2007. While it will include a number of excursions, social/cultural events, and educational meetings with young Armenian leaders, more importantly, it will also include community service activities throughout the week, including a "leave-behind" project. This project will give former volunteers the opportunity to give something back to the Armenian community in a more lasting way.
Recognizing the importance of online visibility, and the need to provide our growing alumni base a place to keep in touch, Birthright is spending considerable time redesigning the organization's Web site (www.birthrightarmenia.org) in order to increase usage from both outside patrons and alumni. Users on the "new" site will soon be able to post personal blogs, videos and photos, as well as personal profiles. "The internet is rapidly evolving how people, specially the younger generation, communicate. We want to be cutting edge as far as offering the choices that most of our visitors want to see on our Web site", said Yepoyan.
One of the key ways Birthright Armenia has kept alumni from all its various sponsoring organizations within reach is through the quarterly Alumni Newsletter. Not only does it provide information on new happenings within the Birthright organization and its members, but it has also promoted continued alumni involvement in the organization's growth. Similar to theWeb site and the wealth of presentations made by former Birthright participants fulfilling their Continuing Involvement Proposals, the newsletter serves as a fountain of inspiration for what others are doing to help Armenia.
The continuing involvement proposals, alumni reunion, Alumni Next Step fund, Web site redesign and quarterly newsletter are some of the ways Birthright Armenia is striving to keep the former volunteers it has sponsored involved and engage them as community leaders. The organization is serious about its commitment to the Homeland and the future of its people. "Each alumni volunteer represents a unique potential ready to be tapped by his or her community. With our alumni program we just serve as a conduit to keep the flame within each volunteer warm until they are tapped by their communities for leadership roles, or they on their own decide to make that commitment to do more in Armenia like opening a business or repatriating," says Yepoyan.
2004 AIM article
2004 article from AIM Magazine
Birthright Armenia
Making Youth an Offer They Can't Refuse
In 1982, Edele Hovnanian was a student lat the University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia. She did what lots of college students do - decided to take a year to study abroad. The institution of her choice? Yerevan State University. This was 1982, when there were hundreds of Armenians from the Middle East who would come each year to Armenia to pursue a college education. But few came from the West.
She remembers that despite her non-existent Armenian language skills and with the Soviet stranglehold on Armenia still very much apparent, eight months later, Hovnanian found herself not wanting to return to the US.
She is not alone. Programs bringing young adults to Armenia have multiplied over the years and particularly after independence. Today, approximately 20 such programs exist (see www.armeniadiaspora.com for a complete listing). Most of them provide summer experiences in Armenia. The Land and Culture Organization (see adjoining article), the Armenian Youth Federation, the Canadian Youth Mission to Armenia, Diaspora-Armenia Connection are just a few of these. There is also Armenian Volunteer Corps that works to provide a longer, deeper experience (see AIM June 2001).
Research performed by a team commissioned by Hovnanian in 2003 shows, however, over the past five years, less than one percent of all US-based Armenian youths between the ages of 18 and 32 have traveled to Armenia each year, and this percentage is probably even lower for the Diasporas in other countries.
The overriding message from the vast majority of those who do come and immerse themselves, even for just four short weeks, in work, study or cultural visits and backpacking, is that this is a unique personal experience that sparks a sense of ethnic and cultural identity and a greater understanding of the people and the country Sometimes, it even develops into an urge to stay and help build Armenia.
It was in view of this "untapped potential" and of her own "life-changing educational experience" in Armenia nearly 20 years ago, that in September 2003, Hovnanian founded Birthright Armenia, a new, non-partisan organization whose mission it is to strengthen the Diaspora ties with Armenia. Birthight Armenia aims to provide Armenians from all over the world, between the ages of 18 and 32 with the opportunity to be a part of Armenian daily life and to contribute to Armenia's development while at the same time cultivating their own personal relationships and sense of Armenian identity. The goal is simple: to drastically increase the number of Diasporans visiting and connecting to Armenia, making it "trendy for Diasporan youth to travel to Armenia, a rite of passage that all young Armenians should have," Hovnanian explains.
Linda Yepoyan is the Birthright Armenia director. She has been at this since 2002 when Hovnanian first came up with the idea. Since then, she has spent most days sitting at her computer,with telephone in hand,and making connections contacts, doing research, seeking information in order to turn this Armenian community truism - "it's the youth that will make a difference" - into a real viable program. Yepoyan, who lived in Armenia between 1989-92, was determined to create a program that would be tailored both to Armenia's needs and to the Diaspora's identity and resources, incorporating the lessons and advice of existing Armenian and foreign models for Diasporan youth immersion programs.
After seven months of planning, Birthright is up and running. The organization is offering community service placements with one of the many established service programs in Armenia.
But Hovnanian hasn't forgotten her own experience. So, Birthright also offers classes in Eastern Armenian language, as well as weekly seminars, excursions and accommodation with local Armenian families Additionally, if the participants successfully complete an eight-week program - any program, with any organization - Birthright Armenia reimburses the entire roundtrip airfare. For those whose programs in Armenia last less than eight weeks, the organization will help organize placements so that they can stay a minimum of two months in Armenia, thus becoming eligible for reimbursement.
In addition, the organization is keen to support any Diasporan student who wishes to follow a study experience in Armenia - be it through a semester abroad or year abroad program at any of the Armenian universities. This in effect will be the first step towards the creation of a number of quality, accredited study abroad programs in Armenia with foreign universities, from which Diasporan students will be able to choose. And by studying in Armenia, young Diasporans can truly become part of the real life in Armenia like Hovnanian and Yepoyan did.
For Hovnanian, being part of the real life in Armenia is the only way that Diasporans can understand the country and gain "a greater appreciation of the people in the Homeland. believe in their future and be inspired to help make that future." With this in mind, participants stay with local Armenian families rather than in hotels and receive Eastern Armenian language training prior to and during trips to ensure that they get as much as possible out of their experience. The travel assistance of course makes the experience possible for many for whom the substantial cost of air travel is a major obstacle.
This approach is certainly new and different. And it gets better. What really sets Birthright Armenia apart is that it aims to act as a facilitator for all the other organizations running youth programs in Armenia - in effect directly and indirectly helping them grow by providing the infrastructural, logistical and financial support for them to expand. This support and cooperation, sometimes all too rare, is reciprocated by all the organizations currently in Armenia.
"The important thing is not with which organization young Diasporans come to Armenia, but that they do come to Armenia, learn what the country is really about and decide if they want to stay longer or return," says Narineh Azizian, director of the Armenian Volunteer Corps (www.armenianvolunteer.org). "Birthright Armenia is therefore doing exactly the right thing by embracing all existing youth pro- grams in Armenia."
Birthright Armenia plans to support the creation of new, top-quality, well-organized youth programs that will provide a wider range of opportunities together with more professional recruiting, advertising and out- reach. Given the poor economic climate of the last few years in the US, this objective will be difficult to achieve in the short-term predicts Yepoyan, since "non-profit organizations are faced with cutbacks, downsizing of programs, and fundraising challenges and so very few are in a position to create new programs right now."