Hye Geen's Third Annual Conference Examines Status of Armenian Communities in the United States

AGBU Hye Geen's Forum for Armenian Social and Cultural Studies (FACSS) held a one-day conference on April 12, 2008 at California State University of Los Angeles, in conjunction with the college's School of Social Work, College of Health and Human Services. The subject of the conference was "The Status of Armenian Communities Living in the United States."



Opening remarks were delivered by Talin Yacoubian of AGBU Hye Geen's Young Circle. She first expressed her gratitude to Dr. Karin A. Elliot Brown of the university's School of Social Work for her continued cooperation. She also thanked three youth organizations, namely the Armenian Social Work Caucus, the Cal. State Los Angeles Chapter of Alpha Epsilon Omega Fraternity, as well as AGBU Generation Next, for their close cooperation.



The first speaker was Rev. Fr. Sarkis Petoyan of St. John Armenian Church in San Francisco, who spoke about "The Faith, Church Membership and Attendance Practices of the Armenian Baby Boom Generation."



Next on the program was a panel presentation dealing with issues of class conflict, social justice and oppression of vulnerable populations. The panelists were introduced by Houri Keshishian, a member of Hye Geen's FACSS group.



The panelists presented their research on various fields, including Paul Naccashian, owner and principal consultant with Collaborative Solutions in Azusa, California, who spoke about "Conflict Mode Analysis of Armenians in the United States: Similarities and Differences, a Comparative Study"; Shakeh Baghdasarian, a graduate of the School of Social Work at California State University of Los Angeles, broached the subject of "Experiences of Armenian Homosexuals Living in the United States"; and Dr. Martin J. Adamian, professor at California State University of Los Angeles, spoke about "The Use of Law and Genocide: The Armenian Experience."



The panel presentations were followed by the introduction of the guest speaker, Boghos Levon Zekiyan, by AGBU Hye Geen founder and chairman, Sona Yacoubian. Zekiyan is an ordained "vartabed" of the Armenian Catholic Mekhitarist Order and the founder of the Venice Ca'foscari University's summer intensive course in Armenian language and culture under the aegis of his Padus Araxes Cultural Association. Yacoubian paid tribute to the scholar theologian, a professor of Armenian Church institutions at the Pontifical Oriental Institute of Rome, as well as a member of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. Zekiyan spoke about "Women's Role in the Armenian Society as a Factor of Mutual Integration."



After the lunch break, Saro Ayvazian, of the Alpha Epsilon Omega Fraternity at CSU-LA, spoke about his organization's range of activities. The presentation was followed by a second session dealing with "The State of Armenian Youth in Los Angeles." Ara Arzumanian, director of the prevention-based AGBU Generation Next Mentorship Program, presented the results of field research conducted by 11 experts working with Armenian youth over the past 30 years, which points to the serious need for communal nurturing among Armenian youth and a lack of involvement by the Armenian community at large; and Osheen Keshishian, publisher/editor of the English-language The Armenian Observer weekly, faculty member of Glendale Community College and guest lecturer at California State University, Northridge, spoke about "The Reflection of the Genocide in the Works of Armenians Who Write in English."



The final feature of the conference program was a roundtable discussion focusing on issues facing the Armenian-American youth of Southern California. Moderated by Tamar Kevorkian, columnist for The Armenian Reporter, the participants were Fr. Vazken Movsesian, a priest serving various Californian churches for the past 25 years and Executive Director of In His Shoes Ministries, a faith-based organization to rally support and assistance for people in areas hit by genocide; Melina Sardar, educational director of Ark Center in Glendale and case manager at the AGBU Generation Next Mentorship Program; and Arlette DerHovanessian, a behavioral psychologist, program director in the Department of Early Education and Extended Learning Programs in the Glendale Unified School District.



This thought-provoking conference concluded with the closing remarks of Nayiri Nahabedian, chairperson of FACCS.



AGBU Hye Geen's mission is to preserve and honor the achievements of Armenian women and to provide a forum for Armenian women throughout the world. AGBU is the largest Armenian non-profit organization in the world. It is dedicated to preserving and promoting the Armenian heritage through humanitarian, educational, cultural and social programs that serve some 400,000 Armenians annually. For more information on AGBU and its worldwide chapters, please visit www.agbu.org.



This article is an abridged version of the one entitled "AGBU Hye Geen's Third Annual Conference on the Status of Armenian Communities Living in the United States" by Sona Zeitlian, published in the May 14, 2008 issue of "The Armenian Observer" and the May 23-29 issue of "USA Armenian Life Magazine.