Category: 2017

Witnesses Reopening of ARS Stepanakert “Soseh” Kindergarten

GLENDALE, Calif. – Over 125 members and supporters of the Armenian Relief Society of Western USA traveled to Armenia and Artsakh for a two-week period in September 2017 for a tour of the motherland and to witness the reopening of the ARS Stepanakert “Soseh” Kindergarten. The tour was headed by Jasik Jarahian.

Travelers filling three tour buses were able to visit numerous sites in Armenia, including Echmiadzin, the Sardarabad Monument, Saint Hripsime Church, Tsakhkadzor, Kecharis Monastery, Gyumri, Garni, the Keghart Monastery, the Lori Pert, Haghpat, museums, local restaurants, and more.

On September 4, tour participants headed to Dilijan for an overnight stay and visited the spectacular campus of United World College Dilijan. The next day, travelers departed for Artsakh via the Vardenis Highway, a beautiful and newly constructed route, which is a project that was undertaken by Armenia Fund, engaged the support of individuals and organizations worldwide, and has shortened the commute between Yerevan and Artsakh.

Prior to arrival in Stepanakert, a visit to the Dadivank Monastery left a memorable and lasting impression on travelers. Upon arrival in Artsakh, participants received a warm welcome, and due to the large size of the ARS of Western USA group, travelers stayed in three hotels until September 8.

During the morning of September 6, members delivered memorial flowers for fallen servicemen in Artsakh. Thereafter, the official reopening of the ARS “Soseh” Kindergarten in Stepanakert was held, a project toward which the ARS of Western USA has brought its monumental support and raised over $345,000 over a two-year period.

Alongside the ARS of Western USA, hundreds of individuals gathered at the kindergarten’s reopening ceremony. The ceremony saw the attendance of Artsakh President Bako Sahakian, Archbishop Barkev Martirosyan, Artsakh Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan, Speaker of the Parliament Ashot Ghulyan, ARS Central and Regional Executive members, ARS members from various countries, and supporters. ARS of Western USA Regional Executive Board members Varduhi Petrosyan, Nora Shirikian, Armenouhi Tomassian, and Maral Touloumian, as well as ARS Stepanakert “Soseh” Kindergarten Rebuilding Project Committee members from the Western Region, including Jasik Jarahian, Seda Khojayan, and Vicky Marashlian were also present.

After remarks were delivered by guests, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held and attendees were able to tour the site of the kindergarten. As a result of the vast support demonstrated by individuals and communities of the Western United States toward the kindergarten rebuilding project, the region contributed toward 1 hall, 3 classrooms and 2 small rooms at the kindergarten, as well as  11 roots, 39 branches, 52 pavers, and 108 leaves on the donor recognition tree. The region is also grateful for the instrumental role of sponsors and donors, who made donations in the form of classroom furniture, children’s beds and bedding, office furniture, backpacks, school uniforms, children’s sleepwear, and more, in benefit of the kindergarten and its students. In-kind donations were made by Armenia School Foundation, Focus on Children Now, Modella Uniforms, and Sebouh and Elizabeth Sarkissian. The ARS of Western USA is thankful for the generosity and kindheartedness of each individual and establishment, who made worthwhile donations to this cause, including donations made on both happy occasions and in memoriam.

Following the reopening ceremony, on the evening of September 6, members attended an exceptional dinner reception in Shushi hosted by President Sahakian, which saw the attendance of over 800 guests. This event allowed participants to have a close encounter with the President of the Artsakh Republic.

On September 7, travelers spent time with servicemen in Martakert and, thereafter, the ARS Glendale “Sepan” Chapter executive and chapter members met with families and servicemen to offer and distribute financial assistance in the amount of $40,000 the chapter had raised, as well as 35 boxes filled with donation items.

While in Artsakh, travelers also visited Tigranagert and Kantsasar, and spent an enjoyable afternoon at the Dzaghgashad Village-Nigol Douman museum, hosted by Jasik Jarahian, and became closely familiarized with Armenian village life and cultural traditions.

On the evening of September 7, the 25th anniversary of ARS Artsakh was celebrated during a banquet during which memorabilia was presented to the ARS of Western USA Regional Executive, alongside Regional Executives from other regions, for their support of the Artsakh Republic. En route back to Yerevan, Armenia, travelers experienced sightseeing in Shoushi and a visit to the Tatev Monastery with the tramway. On September 9, the ARS Armenia banquet was held.

A total of 82 members and individuals traveled to Tiblisi and Javakhk on September 10, for a three-day trip (of which 54 participants were from the ARS of Western USA tour), returning on September 13, 2017. This trip allowed the opportunity to visit the youth centers in Javakhk, including the Akhaltskha Youth Center, which is supported by the ARS of Western USA, and to meet with the Javakhk Fund Chairperson Bagrat Sargsyan, as well as ARS members in the region.

For those who remained in Armenia during this time period, the tour included visits to the Komitas Museum, Yerablur, the Armenian Genocide Memorial (Dzidzenagapert), the ARS Mother & Child Clinic and Birthing Center in Gyumri, the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies, Stepanavan, Aparan, Oshakan, Ashtarak, senior centers, and attendance at evening events, such as the ballet, opera, theater, and concert, as well as on the Armenian television program Kisapac Lusamutner.

Upon the conclusion of the region’s tour, Jasik Jarahian was accompanied by Artemis Gregorian from ARS Artsakh to visit the ARS Soseh Kindergarten in the village of Ashan, which is one of the two kindergartens in Artsakh sponsored by the ARS of Western USA region.

This memorable tour allowed the opportunity for its participants to fully experience the motherland with all its beauty and to promote the noble mission of the Armenian Relief Society.

The Armenian Relief Society of Western USA, established in 1984 and with regional headquarters in Glendale, CA, has 26 chapters and more than 1,200 members in four western states. The ARS operates a Social Services Division and Child, Youth, and Family Guidance Center, one-day schools, and funds numerous youth programs, scholarships, and relief efforts. For additional information, visit www.arswestusa.org or call (818) 500-1343.

Renowned Photojournalist Scout Tufankjian; TUMO Students Share Images of Artsakh at Event Held at PicsArt Headquarters

SAN FRANCISCO—The Bay Area Armenian community joined the Armenian National Committee of America San Francisco in supporting the life-saving Artsakh de-mining efforts of The HALO Trust last week, raising over $8000 at an event organized at PicsArt Headquarters in Downtown San Francisco.

ANCA-SF Board member Knar Kahkejian kicked off the evening with powerful remarks about the importance of Artsakh de-mining, followed by internationally renowned author Scout Tufankjian’s presentation of her photos and that of TUMOxAGBU Stepanakert students, capturing life in landmine impacted communities in Artsakh and the humanitarian work of The HALO Trust to clear these deadly mines.

HALO Trust Director of Development Andrew Moore offered an overview of the organization’s efforts and explained that funds raised at the San Francisco event will help clear a ten-acre minefield in Nor Maragha village in the Martakert region, within the vicinity of the main North-South Highway connecting Stepanakert with Martakert, the historical site of Tigranakert, and the iconic mountaintop monastery of Vankasar. Moore thanked PicsArt, ANCA-SF, and everyone who donated to help make Karabakh Mine Free.

ANCA-SF and The HALO Trust’s community fundraising efforts augment the Congressional funding received in support of the initiative, which is restricted to clearance within the Soviet-era boundary. Most recently, on September 9th, the U.S. House adopted an ANCA-backed amendment by Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) which would send $1.5 million in U.S. assistance as part of the fiscal year 2018 foreign aid bill. The HALO Trust relies on private donations to clear minefields threatening families in Lachin, Martakert and Hadrut regions that lie outside this boundary. The ANCA has been leading the call for continued U.S. assistance to Artsakh since 1997. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently noted that the “State Department and USAID support the demining program and are currently reviewing information from HALO Trust requesting additional funds.” He confirmed that over $45 million has been provided to victims of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, a larger official figure than has been previously reported.

Over the last 16 years, HALO Trust has destroyed over 8,733 anti-personnel mines, 2,584 anti-tank landmines, 180,858 small arms ammunition, 12,423 cluster bombs and 48,572 other explosive items in Artsakh. The HALO Trust looks to complete Artsakh demining efforts by 2020. For more information on the Safe Steps for the people of Karabakh campaign visit www.halotrust.org/MineFreeNK

 

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (Marketwired) – PicsArt, the world’s largest photo editor and creative community, announced on Monday that it has more than 100 million monthly active users (MAUs). PicsArt has been downloaded hundreds of millions of times worldwide, in more than 30 languages, and its massive user base edits more than 850 million images every month. Additionally, PicsArt reached 50 million stickers created monthly, and is also quickly becoming one of the largest open-source collections of images in the world.

“I started PicsArt to make a safe, creative and collaborative space for artists like my daughter. Before PicsArt, beginner artists would find it challenging to share their work without being discouraged,” said Hovhannes Avoyan, CEO and Founder of PicsArt. “I wanted a space where everybody could freely express their creativity. Where everybody could have access to quality tools that are easy to use and deliver great artistic results. We see 100 million monthly active users as an important milestone toward making everyone creative; we intend to reach a much larger audience in the years ahead.”

“There are only a handful of consumer services that reach 100 million people every month,” said Omar Hamoui, partner at Sequoia Capital. “What’s even more impressive is the depth and breadth of the engagement within the app. The team has been building a sophisticated and rich experience for years and users continue to discover more and more to do with PicsArt.”

To help accelerate growth, PicsArt has now launched an iMessage App for Stickers; community-created ”#freetoedit” Stickers and a new feature called Remix Chat.

PicsArt is now actively partnering with brands, celebrities and organizations to foster new, collaborative experiences between PicsArt partners and their fans. The idea is to provide them with a platform to engage with their fans on a meaningful level. For example, the company undertook a campaign for 30 Seconds to Mars the LA rock band led by Hollywood star Jared Leto. This produced over 50,000 authentic pieces of content for the band and generated tens of millions of impressions on and off PicsArt.

Although now based in Silicon Valley, PicsArt emerged from — and has become a star of — Armenia’s nascent startup scene which also includes mobile learning startup SoloLearn. The Cold War left a heritage of leadership in technology in the country, which is gradually leading to a flowering of new startups.

The story behind the PicsArt’s birth starts with a little girl. One day Avoyan — a serial entrepreneur who founded five previous companies — came across his 10-year-old daughter, who was crying. She’d shared one of her drawings online and trolls had filled the comments section with nasty jibes. She was quickly discouraged to continue sharing. So he decided to create a space for artists, with quality tools, that was also a positive space. In contrast to some other social networks we might mention, trolling was actively discouraged. A place where people could learn, create and share art, experiment, and collaborate. The early motto was “Everyone is Creative,” which later changed to “Make Awesome Pictures.”

By early 2015, when the app had reached 45M MAU, PicsArt closed its first $10 million of VC funding from Sequoia. That led to more interest and more funding. Another $15M from Insight Venture Partners was followed by a Series B round of $20M.

It now employs over 350 people in the US, Europe, and Asia and sports one of the largest collections of open-source images in the world. Its biggest office is in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, and looks any other super-modern Silicon Valley office.