Dr. Ara Sanjian, Director of the Armenian Research Center at the University of Michigan-Dearborn speaks to CivilNet’s guest host Raffi Doudaklian about diverging agendas of Diasporan communities and Armenia. Dr. Sanjian stresses that Genocide is the central pillar of the Armenian communities’ Agenda, while the majority of people there do not have the same commitment about Armenia’s domestic problems.
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A future for Armenia’s children with special needs
CivilNet sits down with Sarah Stites, the founder of Aregak Bakery – Armenia’s first and only bakery that employs only people with special needs. Stites shares the daily experiences and struggles endured by the country’s disability community, where support systems remain woefully inadequate and societal stigma continues to marginalize this vulnerable population.
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The Pan-Armenian Winter Games kicked off in the resort town
The Pan-Armenian Winter Games kicked off in the resort town of Jermuk with a spectacular opening ceremony. Jermuk has welcomed more than 1300 athletes from 18 countries for what is only the second winter games in Pan-Armenian history. They will compete in a range of sports from hockey, skiing, snowboarding, and even snowball fighting. Among the countries participating, Kazakhstan is appearing for the first time, joining those coming from as far as the US, Canada, and Argentina. At just five years old, the games’ youngest competitor, dancer Nikita Kumar Nazaryan, is also India’s lone representative. The ceremony opened with an […]
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Armenia, Iran to sign strategic partnership agreement
By Alexander Pracht Yerevan and Tehran are working on a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, Iran’s ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, revealed at a press conference held at the embassy Thursday. He also said Iran does not mind Armenia’s partnership with the United States or the presence of the European Union monitoring mission in the country. “We have numerous joint projects: last year, our countries signed a cooperation memorandum in scientific, educational, and cultural spheres, deepening our relations,” he added. Opposing the ‘Zangezur corridor’ The Ambassador emphasized Iran’s unwavering support for Armenia’s territorial integrity and clarified Tehran’s position on regional transportation […]
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Yerevan’s poor air quality: a challenge that remains overlooked
By Gevorg Tosunyan The air quality in Yerevan has reached an alarming level. The municipality’s 160 monitoring stations show that the air becomes increasingly unhealthy throughout the day. In Yerevan, there are only one or two areas where breathing the air doesn’t pose a health risk, and that’s only in the early morning when the city has yet to awaken. How will this problem finally be resolved? Maxim Gasparyan, a resident of Vedi town, located 50 km from Yerevan, says that visiting the capital is the most challenging for him. “I’ve had two heart surgeries. When I’m in Yerevan, it’s […]
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Armenia’s aviation struggles: EU ban, no flag carrier, unexplained incidents
By Alexander Pracht Armenia’s aviation sector continues to face serious challenges, having been on the European Union’s air safety blacklist for almost five years, barring all Armenian airlines from entering EU airspace. Efforts to establish a national flag carrier have repeatedly failed, while attempts to develop a domestic passenger flight network have also yielded little success. As a result, the country remains heavily reliant on foreign airlines, limiting connectivity and raising questions about the industry’s future. Domestic flights During the Soviet era, Armenia had a well-developed domestic aviation network, with regular flights connecting Yerevan to cities such as Stepanakert, Jermuk, […]
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Rabiz and the musical memory of Armenians
By Brigitta Davidjants Some 20 years ago, I briefly studied at the Yerevan Conservatory. As a young musicologist, I had to write a research paper on Armenian music. I suggested rabiz – a genre that, at the time, was everywhere: blaring from cars outside the opera, playing in street cafés, and on early mobile phones. Rabiz was also a staple at diaspora parties back home in Estonia, where it accompanied dances I, regrettably, never learned. However, my suggestion was immediately dismissed. “You see – this music is of the common people,” a professor kindly explained, steering me toward analyzing Komitas’ […]
