EVN Talks

Founder of TEDx Yerevan, Head of the Leadership Lab at Picsart and author Kristine Sargsyan talks about her newly published book “Pilgrimage to the Brain”. Inspired by her curiosity of how the human brain works, the book is meant for people of all ages to understand the power and potential they have within them.

A professional in environmental management focusing on solar energy and water, Hasmik Barseghyan was part of Armenia’s delegation to COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. She says that although Armenia has and continues to face many challenges, it is possible to benefit from the opportunities of Armenia’s geography as the “center of the world”, linking different regions together.

After the 2020 Artsakh War, Arpi Karapetyan, like many others, asked herself a simple question: What now? As a human resources professional and successful businesswoman, she put into action what she knew best and launched a new program called New Page. A social responsibility program, the aim of New Page is to help veterans of the war acquire new knowledge and develop skills to enter the labor market. The program has helped 1000 veterans and the second phase has 700 vets already signed up. To donate to the program, follow this link.

On November 16, 2021, Azerbaijani Armed Forces launched a large-scale offensive along the eastern border of Armenia’s Syunik region, resulting in intense battles. A Russian-mediated ceasefire came into force later that evening. This latest attack was yet another example of Armenia’s ongoing security challenges and vulnerabilities. Azerbaijani expert Tatevik Hayrapetyan and political scientist and international security expert Dr. Nerses Kopalyan of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas talk to EVN Report’s editors about the situation.

After graduating from Yerevan State University with a PhD in physics, Dr. Garik Israelian went on to lead the international collaboration that provided the first observational evidence that supernova explosions are responsible for the formation of Black Holes. Israelian works at the Institute of Astrophysics in the Canary Islands and is a professor at the University of La Laguna. He is also the founding director of Starmus Festival, a global festival of science communication and art.

On September 16, 2021, Armenia instituted proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Azerbaijan on the basis of violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Yeghishe Kirakosyan, Armenia’s agent at the ICJ and international law expert Levon Gevorgyan who was an advisor and part of Armenia’s legal team at The Hague speak to EVN Report about the landmark case.

Launched in 2005, DigiWeek is the marquee event for Armenia’s technology sector. The anchor event for DigiWeek is the Digitec Expo (the largest tech expo in the Caucasus) and the first ever Digitec Summit, an exclusive conference bringing together technologists from around the world. Raffi Kassarjian, the executive director of the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises and Nerses Ohanian, founder of HyeTech speak to EVN Report about how the tech sector is turning challenges into opportunities.

Edgar Marukyan, CTO of Renderforest, has launched a consulting and mentorship program that helps startups scale their businesses. He speaks to EVN Report about the challenges and opportunities for small business in Armenia, how more women are venturing into the sphere, the business climate, developing a productive work ethic and more.

The Crowdfunding Formula, is one of the most successful marketing agencies in the world. Co-founder and CEO, Narek Vardanyan, who is also the author of the best selling book “57 Secrets of Crowdfunding” explains how the idea started with a failure that led to identifying a gap in the innovation industry. His message: Have big ambitions, turn knowledge into valuable products that can solve global problems and most of all, eliminate the fear of coming from somewhere small.

The 18th annual Golden Apricot International Film Festival (GAIFF) kicked off in Yerevan on October 3. Varvara Hovhannisyan, head of the festival’s international department and Sona Karapoghosyan, the project manager of GAIFF Pro (a Cross Border Regional Co-Production Feature Film Project and Work-in-Progress Markets for filmmakers from the Lesser Caucasus) speak to EVN Report about the films that are being featured this year and the position of GAIFF in the global film festival circuit.