This week, Hidden People features Vahan Badalyan, the young, energetic and passionate Artistic Director of Yerevan’s Small Theatre, which is providing an open space, and more importantly a creative and welcoming atmosphere for young, aspiring actors.
Partner content. A discussion on the right to education took place at the Human Rights and Humanitarian Forum in Los Angeles this year. Organized by the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative in collaboration with UCLA’s The Promise Institute for Human Rights, the event brought together global leaders in education and social equity. Louise Richardson, the President of Carnegie Corporation of New York and Aurora Prize Selection Committee Member, moderated the conversation. The panel featured CEO and Co-Founder of Teach for All Wendy Kopp, Professor of Law Anna Spain Bradley, Founder of the MV Foundation Shantha Sinha, and the inaugural Aurora Prize Laureate […]
By Paul Vartan Sookiasian Azerbaijan’s presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev has expressed concerns about the deployment of any third-country forces in Armenia, stating that there is “no need for third-party participation in the delimitation process” if it is conducted in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and peace. “We see no necessity for any EU mission deployment on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. This mission should end,” Hajiyev declared, noting that while the mission was intended to be temporary, it appears to be becoming permanent. The Azerbaijani official emphasized that the mission’s composition and mandate scope have expanded. He characterized the mission as a […]
By Alexander Pracht Armenia’s foreign minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, compared the 1915 Armenian Genocide with Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh that happened last year, asserting that developments leading to genocidal acts do not usually attract enough international attention that could prevent such crimes. He said this as he spoke at the 5th Global Forum Against the Crime of Genocide, held in Yerevan today, according to state news agency Armenpress. “Unfortunately, the international community only starts to talk more about genocides and other mass crimes when those become established facts. We witnessed this in our region not only about 110 years ago […]
By Lia Avagyan Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan defends the use of Soviet-era maps in the ongoing border delimitation process with Azerbaijan, calling attempts to dismiss these maps “dangerous for Armenia.” “Rejecting Soviet-era maps could mean rejecting our statehood and independence, as we received our independence within the borders of Soviet Armenia, and this is how the international community recognized us,” Pashinyan stated in a Facebook post. “Maintaining loyalty to our internationally recognized territory is an important security buffer for us.” Pashinyan emphasized that if Armenia itself doesn’t precisely recognize its internationally acknowledged territory, it creates opportunities for others to […]
By Alexander Pracht The small spa town of Jermuk, known for its mineral water springs, is hidden in a remote mountainous valley at an elevation of roughly 2,100 m above sea level in Armenia. Jermuk is only accessible by a single road that veers off the highway connecting Yerevan with Armenia’s southern regions. Beyond it, is Azerbaijani territory. Right before reaching Jermuk’s waterfalls, ropeways and hot springs, there is a long stretch of land on the left-hand side, where the faint outlines of an abandoned runway become visible. This grayish swathe of concrete, dirt, and withered autumn grass that inevitably […]
By Paul Vartan Sookiasian While Armenia’s growing media industry is mostly free, it is coming of age in an era of disinformation. A conference held this week by The Armenia Project (TAP) explored whether the country can develop independent mechanisms for self-regulation to foster journalistic integrity and address the challenges that disinformation poses. TAP is an educational non-profit which aims to advance the country’s communications ecosystem, Armenia has been exploring self-regulation initiatives since 2007 with a press council that developed a Code of Ethical Principles supported by 85 media outlets. The council develops policies and expert opinions on media complaints, […]
Susan McKay, Ireland’s Press Ombudsperson, joins host Eric Hacopian to discuss how to promote ethical journalism at a time when the field is beset by distrust and disinformation. McKay shares her experience promoting the principles of traditional journalism through press councils that adjudicate complaints about reporting and how they can help build trust in the media and protect democracy.
