Conversations at the American Corner

On World Intellectual Property Day, the U.S. Embassy’s Ben Burnes hosts the Chairman of the Intellectual Property Rights Center of Armenia Sarkis Knyazyan for an enlightening discussion about why intellectual property matters in Armenia!

Learn a little bit about Black History Month, and a lot about our Cultural Affairs Officer, Erica King!  Journalist Nora Hayrapetyan interviews Erica about her life and career, and Erica talks about some of the strong leaders she looks up to! (Spoiler alert: she once went to a basketball game with former Secretary of State […]

Focusing on fact checking, Embassy Political Officer Mary Alexander talks to Aren Melikyan from sut.am, talk about how today’s media landscape allows anyone to publish “news” to push forward their agenda. Fact checking takes time and resources, so Melikyan said it can be easy for fake or wrong news to spread easily. That is why, […]

In this episode, Lyla Andrews Bashan, USAID Armenia’s Technical Office Director, spoke with Lusine Grigoryan, literacy media specialist at the Media Initiatives Center, about media literacy. Media literacy includes the ability to analyze and compare information, to speak up or share about information, and to be a critical and engaged media consumer. It is important, […]

In our latest podcast, recorded on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, Embassy Human Rights Officer Somer Bessire-Briers talks with Arman, a human rights defender working with the New Generation NGO. Listen to Arman’s story about growing up gay in Armenia and the work being done by him and others […]

In our last podcast in a series focused on women’s leadership, we talk to Ambassador Rick Mills and his wife Leigh Carter, a retired U.S. diplomat. They share the story of how they met doing visa interviews at the U.S. Embassy in Paris and talk about how society has changed for female diplomats over the […]

Sabet Hovhannisyan, director of Arevik Publishing House, and Alvard Jivanyan, children’s literature editor at Zangak Publishers, talk about the process of giving books life by publishing them. Along the way, they discuss the role of women in business, the priorities women should place on their career, and the influence books can have on children.

It’s not easy to take a leap of faith and follow your passion, but in our latest edition of the “Conversations at the American Corner” podcast series we talk to two women who did just that. As we focus in March on Women’s Leadership, we talk with book translator Nune Torosyan and Arevik Ashkharoyan, founder […]

We discuss the Trump Administration’s recently-released National Security Strategy (NSS) with Matt Eussen, head of the Embassy’s Political and Economics section. The NSS is a Congressionally-required Executive Branch document that outlines the President’s vision for America’s national security strategy. In the podcast we talk about what is in President Trump’s NSS, how it differs from […]

To highlight Armenia’s military cooperation with the United States, we talk with Lieutenant Colonel Garnik Varosyan and Sergeant Aram Simonyan about Armenia’s Role II EMEDS unit. They speak about the history of their unit and the close cooperation with the United States’ Office of Defense Cooperation in the training and equipping of this unique capability. […]

We end our series on USAID’s 25 year history in Armenia by talking with USAID Armenia Mission Director Debbie Grieser about the past, present, and future of USAID Armenia. She speaks about how the organization originally provided humanitarian aid to a newly independent nation, but now is  working in a variety of sectors to support … Continue reading "USAID: From aid to trade, part 3"

We continue our celebration of the 25th anniversary of USAID’s mission to Armenia by looking at how today’s mission prioritizes developing Armenia’s economy and civil society to ensure it can take advantage of the global marketplace. In this episode we talk to one of USAID’s partners in this effort, Bagrat Yengibaryan, executive director of Enterprise Incubator Foundation, one of the largest technology business incubators and IT development agencies in the region, about the role IT does and can play in Armenia’s development.

As we celebrate 25 years of USAID’s mission in Armenia, we explore the organization’s early focus on humanitarian assistance in Armenia, from the 1988 earthquake to the difficult post-independence period. In the first of three podcasts on USAID’s legacy in Armenia, we are at the Gyumri American Corner talking with Armen Varosyan, currently with the … Continue reading "USAID: From aid to trade, part 1"

Not all volunteerism and community service is done by individuals. Christoph Speck, general manager of Coca-Cola HBC Armenia, talks about corporate social responsibility (CSR) and why companies like Coca-Cola think it pays to give back to the community. He talks about how CSR helps build a company’s values, giving its employees a shared goal that … Continue reading "Christoph Speck: Wanting the world to be a better place"

As Peace Corps celebrates its 25th year in Armenia, Gina Grotelueschen, director of programming and training at Peace Corps Armenia, talks to a group of Peace Corps Volunteers serving in Armenia about their experiences and the community involvement, NGO support, and volunteerism they bring to the country.

In our first podcast from the Vanadzor American Corner, we talk to Taguhi Kharatyan, volunteer program coordinator for the Dilijan Community Center. She speaks about how volunteering helped her develop as a professional and how she is now working with Dilijan’s youth to develop a spirit of volunteerism aimed at helping their community grow.

Aram Ter-Zakaryan, a 2004 alum of the Muskie exchange program who currently works as the environmental manager of UNDP Armenia, talks about his experience studying at Ball State University in Indiana and how he uses what he learned in his post at the UN. He describes the perceptions people have of environmentalism while highlighting the … Continue reading "Aram Ter-Zakaryan: Tackle the problems today"

Nune Harutyunyan, director of the Regional Environmental Center for Caucasus, talks about how businesses, governments, and individuals can win by following environmental practices. She stresses that environmental protection doesn’t just cost money, but can actually make businesses profit if done right.

An alumnus of the U.S. Government’s Fulbright Program, Ruben Mirakyan returned to Armenia with new ideas, skills, and passions. Dr. Mirakyan’s time at UC Santa Barbara as a Fulbright Scholar allowed him to explore in-depth the topic of religious diversity [and to study a minority religion in a diverse country.].  The university’s religious studies department was the perfect match for Dr. Mirakyan’s scholarly interests.An associate professor in Yerevan State University’s Department of Arabic Studies, he also co-founded the Armenian eBooks Initiative, which already has digitized 60 books. Learn about his Fulbright experience and how his time in the U.S. deepened his academic expertise and gave him the chance to share his Armenian heritage with his host university.

Long-time English teacher Hripsime Khanzadyan talks about the educator who inspired her to be a teacher, how she tries to customize her classrooms to maximize student success, and her latest efforts serving as a mentor for new teachers participating in Teach for Armenia. “English gives you wings,” she said. “If you know English you can … Continue reading "Hripsime Khanzadyan: English gives you wings"