I was interviewed by Radio Free Liberty regarding my involvement with a youth organization started by the deacons of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, who have heavily used Facebook as a tool to reach out to the young people of Armenia. The interview was given just prior to my giving a presentation on Ecology and the Church to a “Manana” (meaning Mana) group at St. Mary Church in the area of Malatia. The following is a translation for my friends and family that can’t read Armenian.
Also lecturing in the Manana framework is Dn. Matthew Ash, who’s first expertise
was Web Design, but is now clergyman. Matthew’s mother is Armenian, but by his
admission, until the age of 23-24, he hadn’t known a single word of Armenian. Only
later, according to his words, he began to learn Armenian having become conscious of
his clerical calling.
He has been in Armenia for two years, and studied in the Gevorgian Seminary. Of the
difficulties he experienced living here, one was the language, and the other was
missing his mother, sister, and dear ones.
The most important thing that he learned in Armenia, in his words, was the national
mentality [style of thinking] and consciousness, as the National Church has a certain
type of unique flavor to it.
And to some degree he has been able to transfer to the clergy of Armenia his American
mentality and the administrative and educational methods of structuring church life
which are used in the United States.
published
In this video, our students from Ghoghanj Childrens Center, Armine and Anahit, teach us how to take used plastic bags (which are plentiful in Armenia), and create a pretty material which can then be used to create fun and useful crafts like wallets or purses.
My students learned this technique in my wife’s class (the students call her ընկեր Անի). We are produced this in preparation for a website we’re creating called Green Future. We are going to spread awareness about Ecology amongst the youth in Armenia, and also present fun and accessible solutions.
Despite itself, Armenia can be a surprising place. It tempts those expats who live here into a sense of ambivalence, because, as a watched pot never boils, we wait with anticipation for things to develop as we expect or hope them to, and sink into cynicism when they don’t. However, its the progress that occurs organically and not by will of outsiders with plans, which sends the cynic in to shock.
I experienced this sense of awe once again when I visited the Centaur Hippotherapy Center in the village of Ushi off of the Ashtarak Highway. The path that led me to this place was a little too complicated to explain in this blog, but it is certain testimony to my belief that people who live with a sense of being open to their own conscience are spiritually rewarded.
Centaur is a humble facility that practices Hippotherapy, horse-assisted therapy. They treat children who suffer from congenital conditions such as Cerebal Palsy, Autism, and Down Syndrome. Hippotherapy is an internationally recognized form of effective therapy for patients with such conditions. It helps condition their bodies for normal locomotion and elimination pathological reflexes.
The director, Hasmik, working with a child.
To return to my original point, one reason that I have fallen in love with this place is that its mere existence is the result of the love and sheer effort that has been put into it by its founder, Hasmik, and her staff. With no financial support, they bootstrapped the entire project from scratch. What they’ve achieved has been through the funds they’ve been able to scrape together and the sporadic support of sympathetic acquaintances.
When they moved into to their current donated space they spent many months grading the land that would become their horse range by hand, using buckets and shovels, because they didn’t have the funds to hire the necessary equipment. They still personally shuttle children back and forth from their homes with their one car, because many of their patients don’t have the money to pay for the transportation.
This isn’t the only project in Armenia that exhibits this homegrown characteristic, there are many (my wife works for one). However, the discovery of such dedication truly inspires us to continue enabling them to pursue their efforts.
Do you like computers? Do you like the Internet? People who, like me, would not only say yes to these questions, but also not even quite understand why someone wouldn’t, fall under a oft-used title these days, geek. I was never a big fan of the term geek, because it certainly wasn’t something I would have wanted to have been called as a child, but its been reappropriated as of late, and is apparently something cool now.
BarcampEVN ‘11 took place on June 4-5 at the American University In Armenia
Are you a geek? Do you live in Armenia? People who, like me, answered yes to these questions, were at the Third Annual Barcamp, Yerevan, which was held on June 4-5. This is the second Barcamp I’ve attended in Armenia, and last year I gave a presentation on my studies regarding the usage of Armenian Webfonts. I regreted not being able to give a presentation this year, but my schedule wouldn’t allow it.
Whenever I participate in an event in which I have played no part as an organizer, I feel a sense of serenity. After so many years of coordinating events of one type or another, I feel like its a true privilege to just show up and observe one. So, I enjoyed my time as a passive observer at the Barcamp.
Impressions
I have been extremely impressed by the Barcamp’s organizing committee. During the Barcamp, they seem to be present at all times, working to keep the event running smoothly. They engaged the participants in a very friendly manner, and eagerly answered people’s questions, despite the fact that no one paid a fee to participate (one of the rules of a Barcamp). In the months prior to the event, they regularly tweet updates to the event’s and their personal profiles, as well as maintain the event’s blog. This is the international standard for geek event promotion, but its a source of pride that they don’t do a good job “for being in Armenia”, but are simply doing a good job.
Opening of BarcampEVN. At the podium are Arpik, Mika, and the middle guy.
It is also worth noting that Armenians have a certain habit of formalizing things. Its a natural inclination to make events appear organized by imposing structure and bureaucracy where its not always necessary. The cornerstone of a Barcamp is its informality. Its wonderful that the organizers have been able to maintain a stasis of order and informality despite our discordant culture.
It also does the organizers credit, and speaks to the growing sense of geekiness amongst Yerevan’s young adults, that the attendance of the this event has steadily grown every year.
Reflections
After having attended this event for two years, I can say very certainly that its true virtue is not its many presentations, but in the non-virtual social networking that occurs. Its an opportunity for people from different backgrounds to convene and interact. The participants of this event are not cut from the same cloth. They are mostly young, mostly Armenian, and nearly all active in online social networks, but that is the extent of their similarity. Some are into social media and citizen journalism. Others are geeks of the true order, engaged in computer science and engineering. A few are of the class of communicators and designers. Businessmen and entrepreneurs are in the mix too. Finally, there are some people who showed up simply because it seemed like a cool place to be. (Perhaps literally, because the air conditioning at AUA is great). The potential for the exchange of ideas that could occur in this environment could be pivotal for Armenia’s future development both economically and socially.
Expansion
Keeping this in mind, one thing that I heard many people mention was that it was unfortunate that it should only happen once a year. I am of the same opinion. As they say, when something isn’t broke, don’t fix it. Therefore, I wouldn’t suggest that the organizers should alter the general format of the current Barcamp, or simply do it half-yearly or quarterly. Nevertheless, it seems clear that the demand exists. Perhaps more focused barcamp style events could be hosted in smaller formats a couple times a year, with one focused on Social Media and another on Web Design, Development, and Business Development. I understand that the capacity of the organizing committee is limited, and this may hinder their ability to expand programming. If this is the only limiting factor, hopefully the ranks of the committee will grow over time so that new people can learn from their experience and widen the scope of their activity.
Language
The presentations in the Big Hall on the First Day. Two were in English and two were in Russian.
Armenia has always been a multilingual country, with most of the population speaking some amount of Russian and/or English. The few guests who had come from abroad were welcomed to speak in their native language. Perhaps for most this wasn’t a problem, but it seemed that for at least a few, many things weren’t understood. In my case, being able to speak Armenian and English meant that the Russian presentations were out. For others who didn’t understand English well, the opposite was true. For a few that didn’t know Armenian at all, such as the international guests, it seemed to me that most of the presentations were unintelligible. I realize its expensive, but having translators, at least in the main hall, could be a big improvement.
Self promotion
If I have one gripe about the openness of the Barcamp format, its that it enables people to come and advertise their own products for half an hour, for free. If, in the presentation of their product, they discuss some idea or approach, technological or professional, which could be useful for the attendees, then I accept it. However, I don’t like the idea of Barcamp being used as a platform to promote one’s product. It shows a lack of respect for the audience. I’m sure that if they wanted to promote their product they could be a paid sponsor of the event like many other companies were.
I don’t know how this can be discouraged, but it would be great if it didn’t continue in the future.
Congratulations
I would like to sincerely congratulate all of the people responsible for this important event. I hope and pray that they’ll be able to continue their work for many years to come for the benefit of the Armenia’s economic, social, and cultural life. This sort of effort is exactly what we need.
Note I had to re-title this post from “Nonconferencing for a Brighter Tomorrow” to “Unconferencing for a Brighter Tomorrow”, because Nonconference is not a word. Unconference is a word. My bad.
