FRESNO — Sassoon Grigorian will present a virtual lecture on “Armenia in 2035: What it Can and Should Be,” at 7:00PM (Pacific time) on Thursday, March 12, 2026. The Zoom registration link is: https://bit.ly/sassoongrigorianlecture. The presentation is part of the Armenian Studies Program Spring lecture series.
Grigorian will discuss his new book, Smart Nation: A Blueprint for Modern Armenia. The groundbreaking first edition – had over 70 percent of its predictions and recommendations adopted in full or in part. Among them were Armenia developing its first home grown unicorn technology startup (which became Picsart), rapid adoption of e-government, appointing a special envoy to address Armenia-Turkey relations, extend free economic zones along Armenia borders (Meghri free economic zone), laws against domestic violence, and reforms to address corruption and monopolistic behavior.
The second edition tackles issues of technology, diplomacy, security, and prosperity in an era of uncertainty with new insights, bold strategies, and visionary ideas that could help shape Armenia’s tomorrow. According to reviews it has been described by former United States Ambassador to Israel, Ambassador [Djerejian] as a “thought-provoking book that is a must read for those interested in the future of Armenia and peace and stability in the South Caucasus. Its focus on state building and how that can be advanced through the pursuit of coherent and effective domestic and foreign policies on the part of the Armenian government, including the role of the Armenian Diaspora, is worthy of serious consideration.”
Sassoon Grigorian is author of Smart Nation: A Blueprint for Modern Armenia, editions one (2016) and two (2025) published by the Gomidas Institute. The second edition reached top 10 in Amazon best sellers in the international diplomacy category. He is a leading government affairs and public policy professional in the technology sector, having worked for four Fortune 500 companies. He has had opinion pieces published on political issues for The Spectator, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph, the Australian Financial Review, The Canberra Times, The Australian, The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, The Armenian Weekly, EVN Report and many other publications.
The presentation will also be live-streamed on YouTube at: https://bit.ly/armenianstudiesyoutube.
