Armenian News... A Topalian...Hayastan All-Armenian Fund

Panorama, Armenia

Nov 19 2018

Pan-European Phonethon 2018: Armenians of Europe donate € 1,242,460

The Pan-European Phonethon of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund is over. During the period from November 14 to 18, the Armenians of Europe have raised a total of 1,242,460 euros, the Fund's press service reports.

The Phonethon-2018 was launched in Marseille, but included also Toulouse, Lyon, Paris later moving to Switzerland, Germany, and Greece. Over 10,000 people participated in the Phonethon this year, with 700more than the previous years.

The money raised during the Phonethon-2018 will be directed to the development of agricultural projects in Tavush region, installation of solar energy in Artsakh and the needs of the Syrian Armenians in Armenia.

Herewith the results of Pan-European Phoneathon 2018:

Paris - € 686,162

Marseille - € 207,149

Lyon - € 177,898

Toulouse - € 66 447

France in total - € 1,137,746

Germany - € 73,845

Switzerland - € 19,717

Greece - € 11,150

Public Radio of Armenia

Nov 20 2018

Armenia sees no need in reconsidering relations with Iran – acting PM 

Armenia sees no need in reconsidering its relations with Iran, the acting Prime Minister says.

“We have to develop our relations very intensively, and these relations should be mutually beneficial,” acting PM Nikol Pashinyan told reporters today.

“As neighboring countries we not only have to maintain the level of relations, but also try to raise them to new heights,” Pashinyan added.

He said that a company that has relations with both Iranioan and American partners, may be forced to make a choice, and when it comes to private companies, it’s up to them to decide which way they go.

On the government level, he said “we have clearly presented our position, our interests in relations with Iran and Georgia.”

“I’m confident that our American partners understand our situation and policy,” the acting PM said.

He added that development of good and strong relations with the US is also very important to Armenia.

“I’m glad that relations with Armenia is also on the priority list," Nikol Pashinyan said.

The commens come in the wake of a visit by an interagency team of subject matter experts from the US Departments of State and Treasury to Yerevan. 

They discussed the Iran sanctions policies with counterparts in the Armenian government and business community.

The Trump administration has restored all sanctions lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal in a bid to pressure Iran.

The sanctions that went into effect on Monday target Iran's oil exports and financial transactions, hitting the country's main source of revenue and hard currency.

The Trump administration will allow Japan, China, India, Italy, Greece, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey to escape US sanctions against Iran. 

Panorama, Armenia

Nov 20 2018

Despite all efforts, Azerbaijan’s policy on isolation of Artsakh fails – official

A new wave of hysteria has risen in Azerbaijan against the backdrop of the recent visit of Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan to France to attend annual Telethon and Phonathon in the country. 

Sahakyan’s meetings held in Paris have angered Baku, which in turn, has sent a note of protest to the French Foreign Ministry over the visit. 

In a statement released on 17 November, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said, “France's constant double standards approach makes Azerbaijan reconsider its ties with that country.”

In a separate statement, Baku promised to also present a note of protest to the US for issuing a visa to the Artsakh leader. 

Panorama.am correspondent has talked to David Babayan, a spokesman for the Artsakh president, over the possible reasons behind such a conduct of Azerbaijan.

The official stressed this is Azerbaijan’s yet another failed attempt to isolate Artsakh from the international community.

“Azerbaijan is apparently trying to impede any steps and policies of Artsakh aimed at establishing cooperation with different countries. The country spends huge sums – billions of dollars – on it, but all in vain,” Babayan said, meantime stressing Armenia shouldn’t be relieved and not take Baku’s steps seriously.

“But this is the reality: spending huge sums, they fail to achieve a desired end. It irritates Azerbaijan, causing uproar in the country,” he stressed.

The spokesman strongly believes the attempts of the adversary to isolate Artsakh are continuous, and Azerbaijan will not abandon its policy.

“We should clearly realize this and never give up, thinking that Azerbaijan has changed its policy line or ultimate goal. For better or worse, no one shall take deterrent measures instead of us. First of all, we must continue strengthening our trinity – the unity of Mother Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora,” he said, stressing the need to carry out works inside the country and prepare best professionals to work on international platforms.

“We have that potential, we have talented and patriotic diplomats, including within various structures of the Diaspora,” the Artsakh official said.

Babayan stressed despite all the anti-Armenian activities of Azerbaijan, Artsakh doesn’t feel isolated either in France or US thanks to the great support of Armenia and the Diaspora.

“However, the adversary works in multiple channels. Let’s take the example of France: according to reliable sources, Azerbaijan together with Turkey constantly threatens the leaders of those French sister cities which have cooperation agreements with Artsakh. We know about it for sure. In fact, they have declared jihads our friends who are either MPs or social and political figures in different cities,” he said.

“Azerbaijan runs the same policy also in the US, that is why we must preserve the trinity and be united,” the spokesman stressed.

Summing up, he noted Armenia shouldn’t follow the aggressive workstyle of Azerbaijan which is agreed with the fact that Baku has no legal, political or moral truth on its side. According to him, this is the reason why Azerbaijan puts the emphasis on its interests, bribery and terrorism.

“They stay focused on money, while we – on values,” he said. 

Panorama, Armenia

Nov 17 2018

Armenian border villagers block road, demand return of Karen Ghazaryan held captive in Azerbaijan

See also Armenia blasts Azerbaijan’s attempts to present mentally ill captive as criminal

The school students of Berdavan border village in Armenia's Tavush region are holding a rally, demanding the return of their fellow villager Karen Ghazaryan, who is being held captive in Azerbaijan.

The demonstrators marched to block the interstate highway at the edge of the village on Saturday morning, Panorama.am reports, citing Aravot.am.

Ghazaryan’s relatives, the teaching staff of Berdavan secondary school and the village prefect Smbat Mughdusyan also jointed the protest campaign, the news agency said. A large group of police officers were also dispatched to the scene.

The interstate roadway remained closed as of midday.

34-year-old Ghazaryan, whom the Azerbaijani authorities are trying to present as a ‘saboteur’, has a history of mental illness, which has prevented him from being conscripted for military service.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry has slammed Baku’s attempts to present a person with serious health problems as a criminal as a ‘gross violation of the international humanitarian law’, stressing all measures are being taken to return the captive to Armenia.

PanArmenian, Armenia

Nov 20 2018

Armenia has lowest child suicide rate in Europe 

Armenia has the lowest child suicide rate among the countries of the European region, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a fresh report.

According to the WHO, 190 million children and adolescents under the age of 18 live in the European region. 44 million of them were physically and 18 million sexually abused, and 55 million experienced psychological trauma. 90 percent of all such cases go unnoticed, the WHO said.

Child abuse is often the cause of suicide, the report says. Russia leads by the number of child and adolescent suicides in the European region and is followed by Latvia, Belgium, Finland, Moldova, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, on the other hand, have the lowest child suicide rates.

WHO recommends changing the legislation, involving health workers in identifying such cases, acquainting parents with “peaceful” methods of education and teaching children how to defend themselves.

News.am, Armenia

Nov 17 2018

Analyst: Armenia trails behind Azerbaijan in development of intellectual capital 

Armenia needs to reach and pass Azerbaijan in the development of intellectual capital, analyst Gagik Harutyunyan stated at a press conference on Saturday.

As per the analyst, in order to worthily address the challenges which Armenia faces today, it is essential to develop the country’s main capital: intellect and high-quality personnel.

“The main accomplishment of the third Republic [of Armenia]—the victory of Karabakh War—became possible thanks to technology and human capital,” Harutyunyan noted. “But we lost that advantage [over Azerbaijan] in the following years.”

The analyst added that, as case in point, today Azerbaijani universities rank higher than Armenian institutions of higher education.

MediaMax, Armenia

Nov 19 2018

Mikael Mikaelyan wins Armenia’s 1st skiing medal this season

Armenia has won its first skiing medal this season thanks to 19-year-old Mikael Mikaelyan, who took the gold for 10km freestyle race in international qualifying tournament in Saariselkä, Finland.

The young athlete came out the winner among 45 participants, all a year older than him, and earned 79.12 points. Mikaelyan is very close to securing a place in 2019 World Cup finals.

Other Armenia representatives were also involved in Saariselkä tournament. Tadevos Poghosyan finished 12th, Arman Matinyan was 29th, and Katya Galstyan came 23rd.

Armenian Technology Group 550 E Shaw Ave, PO Box 5969, Fresno, CA 93755

PRESS RELEASE

Over 700 acres planted in Armenia with Food Security in mind

For the 2018-2019 growing season, more than 700 acres of farmland were sown by the Armenian Technology Group, Inc., (ATG) to produce assorted varieties of seeds in Armenia. Gagik Mkerchyan, director of ATG operations in Armenia and Mekhitar Grigoryan chief agronomist, spearheaded the planting of high-quality wheat, alfalfa, corn, lentil, garbanzo and other legume seeds for reproduction throughout Armenia.

The objective of this year’s planting is to re-create Armenia’s Seed Bank, in order to make high-quality seeds available to the growers during natural disasters and / or to overcome man-made obstacles.  

“Despite the hail-damage which some of our fields sustained prior to the 2018 harvest, we are satisfied with the outcome of that harvest. We were able to expand our operation,” stated Mkerchyan.

What began -- with the assistance of USAID and USDA Foreign Agricultural Services from the 1990's through 2008 -- as the Wheat Project, continued with the private contributions of the Armenian-American community.   Since the establishment of Armenia’s independence, the country faced at least two crises during which ATG- associated farmers helped bail it out of potential famines. (Please see then-US Ambassador Michael Lemmon’s letter to ATG on our website).    Last summer, ATG's Armenia staff again placed its entire seed inventory under production -- first, to re-energize the private seed producers and, second, to make locally generated high-quality seed available to growers.    It was then time for ATG to rebuild the seed bank again.

“We view a Seed Bank as an essential part of food security. It is an integral part of even national security, particularly for a landlocked country like Armenia.” said Varoujan Der Simonian, Executive Director of ATG. 

ATG farm experts continue their Research & Development, in co-operation with the International Maze and Wheat Improvement Association (CYMMIT).  Chief agronomist Mekhitar Grigoryan, who has been with ATG since 1992, annually, on 14 trial-plot sites, practices applied science methodology to select the best seeds varieties suitable for Armenia’s climate. 

“Over the next two years we follow by extensive trials of those varieties  at seven different growing zones in Armenia. We carry all the risks, and only after ensuring the best seed varieties suitable for producing results, which only then are made available to growers.” said Grigoryan.  

 

The process has been part of the intent and purpose of our relationship with the international research center. It has now devoted over two decades to helping us increase farm productivity and income in Armenia.  (see CYMMIT letter to ATG on our website).

ATG places high priority on preserving the quality of seeds, to ensure that farmers obtain only the highest quality. The process begins by roguing the fields early on. That involves removing, by hand, those plants and other seeds that may have undesirable characteristics from various fields.   This is followed by sorting and, after harvest, treating and processing, prior to making the seed available to grain growers.  

 “We appreciate that Prime Minister Pashinyan’s administration is mediating between financial institutions and the growers, who, due to dishonest practices by members of previous governments, have either lost their lands or are in court trying to save their farms and livelihoods. We have faced a depopulation of the rural communities, where some 60% of the land is not being cultivated.  It was time for us to rebuild the seed inventories again,” said Gagik Mkerchyan.

During annual field demonstrations, director Mkerchyan and agronomist Grigoryan re-emphasize to ATG associated farmers the benefits of utilizing a more cost effective and agriculturally efficient no-till farming methodology, underscoring that this will help increase farm income.

Re-supplying the country’s Seed Bank is crucial to strengthening the heartland of Armenia! It results in newly-created jobs, increased domestic productivity, freshly-generated income and, eventually, the growers' ability to provide for their families and manage their own social needs.

 Reflecting on the recent successes on Armenia's fields, ATG board members strongly voiced agreement that the vital and timely financial support of 2017 contributors made possible a potentially tremendous impact for the coming 2018-2019 harvesting season.  

Serving the people of Armenia since 1989, ATG is a California based501(c)3  non-profit corporation. Contributions are tax-deductible, and could be made on line or mailed to P. O. Box 5969, Fresno, CA 93755. 

Panorama, Armenia

Nov 17 2018

Sport 

Yura Movsisyan scores four as Armenia beats Gibraltar 6-2

The Armenian national football team crashed Gibraltar 6-2 in the UEFA Nations League match on Friday.

Gibraltar took the lead in the 10th minute, yet Armenians slowly asserted control and equalized when Yura Movsisyan scored the first goal for the team in the 27th minute.

The Chicago Fire forward hit three more goals in the first nine minutes of the second half – the first haul in the history of the Armenian national football team.

Arthur Kartashyan and Alexander Karapetyan scored the fifth and sixth goals for Armenia. In the 78th minute, Adam Priestly struck the second goal for Gibraltar.

Armenia lost the first match to Gibraltar 1-0 in Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium on 10 October.

The national team is now set to face Liechtenstein on November 19. 

Georgia Today, Georgia

Nov 19 2018

Nerd Nation: The People Factor behind Armenia’s Tech Prowess

By Dr. Simon Appleby

Tiny landlocked Armenia is best known in the region for apricots and brandy, and is the source of long-running Caucasus rivalries as to which nationality first invented winemaking, whose mineral water and dolma are superior, and whose Olympians are better at wrestling and weightlifting. However, Armenia has a more recent claim to fame: it was a major technology hub of the Soviet Union.

Over 150,000 ethnic Armenians from the diaspora settled in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic at the invitation of the Soviet government after the Second World War (partly to compensate for the massive loss of life among Armenia’s male population). As a result, while quite mono-ethnic, Armenia was cosmopolitan in ways that other Soviet Republics were not. Armenian settlers from Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, France and USA integrated into Soviet Armenia’s life, with the academics among them working effectively alongside their USSR-born colleagues in hardware and software development, rocket science and medicine.

The cross-fertilization of ideas and concepts from East and West in Armenia’s institutions bore fruit. Armenia played a key role in the development of the first Soviet atomic bomb, and produced around 40% of the USSR’s computer hardware. The Armenian-developed “Sevan” OS powered the Soviet Union’s ICBM inventory as well as its nuclear submarines; a great deal of dual-use technology was developed in Armenian state institutions, and significant investments in hardware manufacturing and assembly were made.

By the late 1980s, Armenians wryly referred to themselves as a “Nerd Nation”, seeing a career in IT as both prestigious and politically uncontroversial.

DIASPORA-LED DEVELOPMENT

The dark days of the 1990s brought much of this momentum to a halt, but the past decade has seen a renaissance in Armenia’s tech sector. On the one hand, the steady inflow of diaspora Armenians from all over the world has brought capital, export market networks, access to latest technologies and modern project management knowhow. On the other hand, ethnic Armenians in STEM disciplines abroad, many of whom are members of the Philadelphia-based Armenian Scientific Diaspora Association, serve as a bridge for talented Armenian developers looking to commercialize their products or perform outsourcing services to foreign companies.

Several donor and government-financed initiatives also play a role. Established in 2002, the Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) attracted to its facility such technology giants as Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, IBM, Cisco, HP and Intel. EIF also hosts a venture capital fund Granatus, a source of equity and guidance to early stage tech companies which are also to be found on EIF’s premises. Importantly, EIF has set up a technology center in Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city.

Investment promotion by Business Armenia is becoming more polished and customer-focused, signaling that the Armenian tech sector is open for business. Indeed, global players find Armenia an increasingly attractive location. An example is Synopsys, a developer of “secure everything”, from silicon chips to AI, to cloud computing and IOT applications. With over 13,000 staff worldwide, Synopsys has a large presence in Yerevan with several hundred employees and its own training center. Another US-headquartered company with a base in Armenia is National Instruments, operating in the test/measure/control system segment.

As a result of all the above, over the past decade Armenia’s tech exports have been growing at an average pace of 23%/year, reaching 15% of total exports. The tech sector’s overall output currently accounts for 6% of GDP, similar to agriculture.

While Georgia’s architect-designed Tech Park in Mtatsminda looks like a transplant from Silicon Valley, much of Armenia’s IT sector work has been done in crumbling Soviet-era buildings, with decent cable internet connection but neither aesthetically pleasing nor very comfortable. That is set to change.

THE PEOPLE FACTOR

While the arrival of foreign tech companies was a great boon for the development of Armenia’s tech personnel, qualified labor remains a key constraint for the industry.

Armenia may have integrated chess into its general school curricula, however the teaching of STEM disciplines in primary and secondary schools remains weak, particularly in rural areas. Several non-governmental, diaspora-financed initiatives are working to close the gap in IT, tech and creativity skills while operating outside the formal school system. Still, a solid foundation in mathematics and basic sciences is very important at school level, and this responsibility largely lies with government.

One example of a non-governmental initiative to promote computer literacy is the in-school robotics initiative by the Union of IT Enterprises, piloted in Armath. A more comprehensive approach is represented by TUMO, an innovative after-school training program providing free-of-charge “IT and Creativity” training for more than 14,000 youngsters in Yerevan, Gyumri, Stepanakert and Dilizhan (three new centers will be launched in 2019). The brainchild of a US-based IT entrepreneur, Sam Simonyan, TUMO has just opened its first international franchise (in Paris) and is soon to go global.

Given the weakness of government systems, individual people, prominent philanthropists and social entrepreneurs, play an oversized role in the transformation of Armenia’s Nerd Nation. For many of these individuals, including TUMO’s Sam Simonyan, the focus on education goes hand-in-hand with regional development and the building of an ecosystem for science and tech innovation.

With their fortune originating in Russia’s financial sector, Ruben Vardanyan and his wife Veronika Zonabend are behind several philanthropic enterprises, the best known of these, iDEA Foundation, has established an international boarding school in Dilijan, tourist attractions in the remote southern region of Syunik, and the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. Another offspring of iDEA is the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST) co-founded in 2017 with a successful life sciences investor Noubar Afeyan in order “to mobilize the scientific, technological, and financial resources of the Armenian and international communities.” FAST’s current offering includes an incubator, an Angel Investor network, a travel grant program, a fellowship program, and internships for undergraduates in established IT firms. Their 2018 public events have been a great success, with the NSF-FAST Conference in October 2017 well attended and the Global Innovation Forum a very interesting and thought-provoking event covering Life Sciences and IT (the full catalogue of presentations can be seen here). FAST is now working to convert a large land parcel in inner Yerevan into a special technology zone that will host ICT-related faculties of Armenia’s universities as well as innovators and investors from around the world.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

• Rather weak STEM teaching in primary and secondary schools results in a scarcity of teenagers eligible for tertiary education in STEM.

• Vocational-level instruction for technicians is inadequate.

• The growth of Armenia’s tech sector is causing rapid inflation in salaries as vacancies exceed qualified candidates. To an extent the gap is being filled by Iranian programmers fleeing their country, but that is not a long-term solution. It is anticipated that Armenia will need an extra 25,000 programmers by 2025, but the current supply pipeline cannot meet that need.

• In the face of rapid wage growth, the sector must refocus on quality products and a great return on investment for clients. This will require investment in branding and marketing, not just a race to the bottom on price.

• There is negligible state funding for early-stage commercialization of research, unlike Europe, USA and China, and this is a stage that few commercial entities will touch.

• There is not yet a deep enough pool of VC’s and Angels operating locally.

If these challenges are addressed, the technology sector in Armenia could be a major contributor to the national economy and employer of talented young people, effectively ending the process of brain drain that has plagued Armenia for two decades. Combined with modern agriculture and a prudent approach to tourism development, Armenia’s lack of natural resources and problematic relations with its two Turkic neighbors would no longer be a significant impediment to development and prosperity.

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Eleanor Roosevelt is known to have said: 'Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.' While we are quick to recognize the mistakes of our neighbors, this week’s Tbilinomics toast is to our ability to recognize and learn from their successes.

About the author: Based in Armenia, Dr. Appleby is an Australian veterinary scientist and agronomist, and has been operating Hong Kong-based agribusiness group Yu Feng Nong Holdings since 1997. His companies are engaged in M&A consulting, agricultural engineering, farm and asset management.