Major Research on Diaspora Public Opinion Relaunched

The Armenian Diaspora Survey begins in four countries on 12 April

LONDON – The Diaspora survey will be carried out this Spring in Armenian communities in Britain (especially London, Manchester, Birmingham), Paris and its environs, Belgium (especially Brussels and Antwerp) and Rostov-on-Don, Russia.

The Armenian Diaspora Survey (ADS) is an initiative of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, led by a group of scholars and researchers under the auspices of the Armenian Institute in London.

The study provides valuable insights into diaspora public opinion and an important snapshot of people’s thoughts on a host of issues. It offers evidence-based knowledge to the public and valuable data to community leaders, activists and policy makers in particular, giving them a better understanding and analysis of their communities for the development of programmes and projects.

ADS director Dr. Hratch Tchilingirian of Oxford University explained: “In our research we ask the respondents their thoughts and views on identity and related issues of belonging—as Armenians and as citizens of different countries. Other themes include language and culture, church and religion, community engagement, relations with Armenia, the pandemic and the Artsakh war.” The last two themes have been added in this year’s questionnaire.

“We encourage all members of the communities in this round of the study to take part in the survey,” appealed Tchilingirian.  Any Armenian, aged 16 and older, living in Belgium, Britain, greater Paris and Rostov-on-Don can take the survey online, starting on 12th April, by visiting www.armeniansdiasporasurvey.com. Printed questionnaires are available to those who wish to complete it offline.

ADS started with a pilot study in 2018 in four communities: Boston, Cairo, Marseille and Pasadena. Following the successful pilot, in 2019 four more communities were surveyed: Argentina, Lebanon, Canada (Montreal) and Romania.  The communities in the current survey were to be studied in 2020, but the fieldwork was postponed due to the pandemic and the second Artsakh war last year.  In the Fall of this year, plans are underway to survey communities in North America. This would complete the three-year cycle of the project.

“We are pleased that this multi-country systematic survey of the Diaspora is now underway,” said Dr. Razmik Panossian, Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Armenian Communities Department. “This research project has very tangible policy consequences, especially in view of the enormous challenges Armenia and Armenians currently face,” he added.

The results of the 2018 and 2019 studies have been published separately. In addition to English, the 2019 study is also available in Armenian and Spanish. All of the reports could be downloaded for free from ADS website: https://www.armeniandiasporasurvey.com.