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July 27, 2002 For Immediate Release Armenia-Diaspora: NCI Holds Workshop on
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In his welcoming remarks to the fifty participating specialists, NCI coordinator Hrach Hakobyan said: “We undertake this expert examination in advance of the major conclave, where we will try to reveal our commonalities and ultimately establish our relations based on them.”
Culture critic Hamlet Petrosian spoke about “Globalization and the Symbols of Armenian Identity.” He noted in particular: “The primary complexes of Armenian identity can be classified into genetic, cultural, and historical-memory categories, which are equally characteristic of Armenians in the homeland and in dispersion.”
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Orientalist and ambassador David Hovhannisian addressed “The Armenian Value System before and after Independence.” “One of the main problems underlying Armenia-Diaspora relations is the occasionally apparent contradiction between the nation and the state,” he opined.
Philologist Hakob Cholakian discussed the past and present of the Syrian-Armenian community. “It is generally accepted that the Syrian-Armenians are the mother colony of the diasporan Armenians. This was the case in the 1920s and it remains so today,” he said. Cholakian examined the community’s past and analyzed the contemporary problems it faces.
Ethnographer Hrant Abrahamian reported on “Inside and Outside Views: We about Ourselves, They about Us.” “In saying ‘we about ourselves’ we point to an incongruity with our surroundings. For instance, the expression about ‘our unfavorable geographical environment’ belies a subjectively negative attitude. On the other hand, we demonstrate a positive approach toward our environment when we identify ‘ourselves’ with the civilized world,” he said.
The formal presentations were followed by an energetic discussion among NCI founder Raffi K. Hovannisian, historian Hairapet Markarian, philosophers Simon Kamsarakan and Valeri Mirzoyan, culture specialist Ludwig Khachatrian, national artist Vano Dadoyan, NCI councilmembers Hranush Kharatian and Hrach Tatevian, and analysts Vrej Jijian and Hovsep Khurshudian of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies.
Dr. Hranoush Kharatian of NCI’s cultural affairs commission summed up the day’s deliberations.
The National Citizens’ Initiative is a public nonprofit association founded in December 2001 by Raffi Hovannisian, his colleagues, and fellow citizens with the purpose of realizing the rule of law and overall improvements in the state of the state, society, and public institutions. The National Citizens’ Initiative is guided by a Coordinating Council, which includes individual citizens and representatives of various public, scientific, and educational establishments. Five commissions on Law and State Administration, Socioeconomic Issues, Foreign Policy, Spiritual and Cultural Challenges, and the Youth constitute the vehicles for the Initiative’s work and outreach.
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