A one-day event at the USC campus called INNOVATE ARMENIA promises to change the traditional way Armenia is viewed in the world.
On February 21, the USC Institute of Armenian Studies will bring together global change-makers, trendsetters, out-of-the-box thinkers and creative artists from both Armenia and the Diaspora. They will present the best of innovative thought, music and activism. Booths set up on the campus grounds will feature innovative organizations and tech companies.
Director of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, Salpi Ghazarian said, “It’s time to re-position the term ‘Armenia,’ the idea of Armenia in the same sentence with ‘innovation’ — something we’ve been doing, as a nation, for thousands of years. We have innovative tech companies, creative artists, music and food. We have also invited organizations doing ground-breaking work in Armenia to develop civil society in new, untraditional ways. We’re proud to present them here, at USC, at INNOVATE ARMENIA.”
There will be an indoor stage where headliners will be in conversation with leading USC scholars in technological innovation, communication, engineering and the arts. Among those who are leading the charge is Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, Raffi Krikorian, former Vice President of Twitter, and Lara Setrakian of News Deeply. Joining them on stage will be filmmaker Eric Nazaryan and artist Vahe Berberian.
Ohanian, Krikorian and Setrakian will be joined on and off the stage by others including entrepreneur Alexander Seropian, Zareh Baghdasarian, Al Eisaian, etc.
Several Armenia-based start-up who are doing cutting edge work in the industry will also take part in INNOVATE ARMENIA. They include LionSharp, Zangi, PicsArt, and Teamable. The founders of HIVE, the first Armenian tech startup accelerator and network, will be there to share their vision. Joining them will be Tumo Center for Creative Technologies, CivilNet Internet television, the Homeland Development Initiative Foundation, Birthright Armenia, Impact Hub, Repat Armenia, Urban Lab, Paros Charitable Foundation, the Armenian Center for Contemporary and Experimental Art, the American University of Armenia, the Houshamadyan Project, the Foundation for the Protection of Wildlife and Culture and others.
Participants will also enjoy the music of Bei Ru, Sebu Simonian, Sima Cunningham, Collective Medz Bazar and others. Innovative food is also part of the program. According to organizers the offerings will be healthy, tasty, creative food that is both familiar and new.
INNOVATE ARMENIA is a program of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, established in 2005. The Institute supports multidisciplinary scholarship to re-define, explore and study the complex issues that make up the contemporary Armenian experience — from post-Genocide to the developing Republic of Armenia to the evolving Diaspora. The Institute encourages research, publications and public service, and benefits from communication technologies to link together the global academic and Armenian communities.
