Panel Discussion: “Armenian Identity in the 21st Century”

GLENDALE — On Sunday, February 22, 2015, the Armenian Identity Movement (“AIM”) invites members of the community to a panel discussion on the current status of, and the challenges facing Armenian identity in Southern California, to be held at Glendale Public Library at 3:00pm PST.

For the past several decades, the internet has been changing how people share and absorb new information. Globalization is threatening the sovereignty of small nations and the identity of their peoples. The accelerated pace of assimilation of new generations among diasporan communities has become a grave concern. The Armenian nation and its diaspora in Southern California are no exception, and must also address how to deal with these challenges.

The panel will bring together voices from many different perspectives to discuss these challenges through a question and answer format. The discussion will touch on many aspects of identity, including, “What is the current state of Armenian identity in Southern California?” and “How can we promote Armenian identity among the community?”

The panelists include:
Father Vazken Movsesian, A priest of the Armenian Church
Tsoline Konialian-Matossian, Psy.D., Clinical Psychologist and Mother
Maral Voskian, Elementary Armenian language instructor at AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School
Edgar Martirosyan, Attorney and activist
Armen Manuk-Khaloyan, Armenian Studies and History Master’s candidate at CSUN
Kevork Kurdoghlian, UCLA Political Science bachelor’s candidate
The panel discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A. We strongly encourage all members of the Southern California Armenian community, especially parents and youth, as well as other concerned individuals to attend.

About Armenian Identity Movement
Armenian Identity Movement (“AIM”) is an organization that has been developed to address the challenges of maintaining the Armenian identity among diasporan communities. Its vision is to develop a conscious, modern and inclusive Armenian Identity among the Armenian Diaspora. Its mission is to act as a platform to create programs that explore and reinvigorate the Armenian identity. It seeks to design programs that help build a modern, open and positive sense of not only “being” Armenian, but also “feeling” Armenian – a feeling that is ingrained with the knowledge of an informed and conscious identity.

For more information about the Armenian Identity Movement please visit http://www.armenianidentity.org