May 25, 2018

Mihran Toumajian (left) and Dr. Nerses Kopalyan (right)

On Thursday, May 17, 2018, the AGBU Western District Committee along with the Glendale Library, Arts & Culture and the Social Democrat Hunchak Party, Western USA Region, organized a discussion, “An Analysis of Social Development in Today’s Armenia” at the Downtown Central Library. Close to 100 community members attended the hugely successful evening and engaged in a productive and educational conversation about the current reforms due to the recent regime change in Armenia.

The evening began with a short introduction by Mihran Toumajian, Western Region Director, Armenian Assembly of America. Mr. Toumajian welcomed the guests and introduced the speaker of the evening, AGBU WDC Las Vegas Chapter Vice Chair and professor-in-residence of Political Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Dr. Nerses Kopalyan. The one on one discussion, moderated by Mr. Toumajian, focused on the conflict between the loss of political legitimacy and constitutional legality, and geopolitical traps and how to refrain from them. Attendees were given the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the discussion, which was moderated by Elizabeth Grigorian, Armenian Outreach Coordinator for Downtown Glendale Library.

Reflecting on the ongoing changes in Armenia, Dr. Kopalyan noted that “The important reforms that need to happen in Armenia are in the education, employment and healthcare sectors.”

With the growing numbers of diasporan youth taking interest in the changes taking place in Armenia, the discussion was timely and necessary in educating the audience on the current state of today’s Armenia and its implications.

“We are very proud to have a subject matter expert such as Dr. Nerses Kopalyan in the AGBU family. The discussion and analysis were poignant and compelling. With this event we hoped to educate the community on the current affairs in Armenia and I believe we succeeded,” expressed AGBU WDC Chair, Talin Yacoubian.