On Tuesday April 11th, 2023, the Educational Committee of the Crescenta Valley Meher & Satig Der Ohanessian Youth Center will organize a panel discussion: “Collective Unity: Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora”, presented by Dr. Haroutune Armenian, Harut Sassounian and Robert Markarian. This will be followed by a question and answer session from audience members. The presentation will begin at 7:30pm Pacific Time at Crescenta Valley Youth Center (2633 Honolulu Ave., Montrose, CA. 91020).
The event will cover current issues and challenges confronting the Armenian nation in Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora. Brief presentations by the panelists will offer historical overviews of the current situation, existing problems and future visionary outlook. It will also cover: Armenia’s needs to arm itself with the most modern weapons, have experienced and capable leadership, how the Armenian people should be united, not divided and also strengthening diaspora communities through creating elected representatives.
The presentation will be involved using analytic methods from public health sciences to present diagnostic and process approaches that may be useful in developing a collective vigor in the Armenian reality.
Doctor/Professor Haroutune K. Armenian was trained at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where he received his MPH & DrPH degrees, and also at the American University of Beirut for his MD specializing in internal medicine. Dr. Armenian’s extensive academic and development leadership includes systems and services development at the Ministry of Health in Bahrain, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the American University of Beirut, Dean of the College of Health Sciences at the American University of Armenia and President of the American University of Armenia (AUA) for 14 years.
Awards include the Ernest Lyman Stebbins Medal for Excellence in Education and the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching from Johns Hopkins, the Movses Khorenatsi Presidential Medal of Service in 2001 from the Republic of Armenia, Presidential Medal of the Order of Cedars from the Republic of Lebanon. Dr. Armenian is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in London, and a member of the American Epidemiological Society. He has been on the central executive council of the Armenian Church in Lebanon as well as on the central executive of the Hamazkaine Cultural Association and the Karageuzian Foundation.
Dr. Armenian was Editor-in-Chief of Epidemiologic Reviews for 14 yearsand has served on the editorial board of a number of professional journals and publications. He has published over 100 scientific papers and many peer reviewed chapters, as well as edited or published 20 books. He has published 3 collections of his watercolors and prose-poetry in Armenian and English. Currently he leads the Turpanjian Rural Development Program as well as the Entrepreneurship in Medicine projects of AUA in Armenia.
Harut Sassounian is the Publisher of The California Courier, founded in 1958. His weekly editorials, translated into several languages, are reprinted in scores of U.S. and overseas publications and posted on countless websites. He is the author of “The Armenian Genocide: The World Speaks Out, 1915-2015, Documents and Declarations.”
As President of the Armenia Artsakh Fund, he has administered the procurement and delivery of $970 million of humanitarian assistance to Armenia and Artsakh during the past 34 years. As Senior Vice President of Kirk Kerkorian’s Lincy Foundation, he oversaw $240 million of infrastructure projects in Armenia.
From 1978 to 1982, Mr. Sassounian worked as an international marketing executive for Procter & Gamble in Geneva, Switzerland. As a human rights delegate at the United Nations for 10 years, he played a leading role in the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the U.N. Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in 1985. Mr. Sassounian has a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Pepperdine University.
Robert Markarian received his higher education in the fields of physics and law. For about 25 years, before moving to the USA, he worked at the
Armenian-language radio station in Tehran as a presenter, commentator and translator.
He cooperates with the Armenian mass media in political analyses. His analytical articles on the topics of Armenia and Artsakh were published on Armenian and Persian websites as well as in different newspapers.
This and more questions will be answered during this critical discussion. Please reserve the date and time by attending the meeting.
