It was a sunny autumn day in Yerevan, the taxis honking, grannies haggling over fruit, and the faint smell of smog mixed with cigarette smoke filling the air. As I walked up Mashtots Avenue to check in for the first day of the Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program, I couldn’t shake my scepticism. The utility of past youth programs I had attended had been ambiguous at best, but I was curious to see who and what kind of people would represent the global Armenian diaspora this time.
Coming from Australia, I had always felt that these events were merely symbolic, as if Australia were some distant cousin who was technically a family member but never really invited to family gatherings. The other thing was that many of the diasporans I would be interacting with were actually born of Armenian national parents in Armenia and had then moved away to their respective countries. I was born in Sydney to parents born in Tehran; we hadn’t been in Armenia for generations, so there was a bigger distance there. This distance manifested itself in a lack of language skills and of individual cultural cultivation.
“This is the beauty of Australia; the exchange of culture is constant and ubiquitous, a fact of everyday life”
The difference this trip was that I had been living in Armenia for almost two years prior to the program starting at the Ibis hotel on Northern Avenue: language and culture had inevitably seeped into me over time, and to a level I had never reached before in my life. A key requisite of the program was that I could confidently speak and present in Armenian.
And that brings me to the point of this article. Yes, while I do want to recap the Youth Ambassador Program for those Australian Armenians who may wish to participate in programs organised by the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs in the future, it’s more important to share the key lessons about Armenia’s relationship with the diaspora and provide the vision for the united future we so desperately need. For those interested in participating in the Youth Ambassador Program for 2025, contact Kaitzak for more information.
The three key themes I’ll cover in this article are:
I will also weave in how Kaitzak as a platform and philosophy will approach these themes.
1. The Power of Language & Culture
Like many diaspora families, my parents watched me and my sister like hawks to make sure we spoke Armenian at home. But at Toomanian Saturday School, we’d switch to English the moment a teacher left earshot. Growing up in Sydney, where I had never even visited Armenia, I couldn’t grasp why the Armenian language mattered so much. Did it help me in school? Barely. University? Not really. Work? No. Even within the Armenian community in Sydney, we mostly spoke English. So where did I need Armenian? For the longest time, I didn’t—and that was the problem.
This speaks to the huge importance of travelling to Armenia. I believe, as do many others, that literally travelling to Armenia is the first step to unlocking the motivations and incentives for our youth, especially those in a diaspora community like Australia which is so far away. It’s much bigger than a simple sense of belonging within one’s home community; it’s a connection to a place called Armenia as well as the ultimate global community network full of some of the world’s best and brightest, known as the Armenian diaspora.
For me, it was visiting Armenia in 2013 as the chairman of Armenian Church Youth of Australia (ACYA) for a global youth forum. It really hit me when I couldn’t participate in conversations and debates, simply because I wasn’t able to speak in Armenian at an adequate level. It was after this trip, at 21 years old, that I finally realised why I should know the Armenian language well enough to express myself and do my ideas, and myself, justice.
While we may have come from dozens of different countries, everyone participating in the Youth Ambassador Program speaks Armenian—we come from all corners of the world and can communicate in a language that is thousands of years old. It’s a big deal. Language is more than communication—it’s the key to connecting generations and unifying the global diaspora.
The cultural aspect is astounding too: during the program, watching the boys and girls perform traditional dance (and eagerly teaching me too), hearing familiar Armenian songs, singing Tata together, sharing a love for Armenian food, visiting the familiar ancient churches, and witnessing the shared knowledge of rituals. The list goes on and on. The key thing here is that while we all come from such different backgrounds, governments, and parents, we can come together on a whim and unite almost instantly.
Language and cultural understanding are the keys to unifying and belonging in an effective and meaningful way, and we all have access to it if we want. This takes us to our next point about identity.
“Division always only serves a small number of individuals, while solidarity and connection serve the majority”
2. Identity as a Tool for Unification
We are all global citizens and we are all Armenian. Us, our families, our friends. All of my non-Armenian friends have been ‘Armenianised’ to some degree just by knowing me and us spending time together. Small cultural nuggets are easy to pick up and distribute, and in Australia we are exchanging in these constantly. My friends call me Vahagn instead of Andre, I go to Diwali celebrations every year, and we watch cricket and drink beers when we visit each other.
This is the beauty of Australia; the exchange of culture is constant and ubiquitous, a fact of everyday life, and other countries are starting to catch on. But in the context of the diaspora, the exchange of our own culture is quite limited. We’ve covered how language is not used broadly, even though it is a key, fundamental foundation of culture. Cultural celebrations are also limited compared to those in Armenia and other diaspora communities. What we do retain are food traditions, eastern and western influences, and the Armenian Church, which stands as a cultural beacon, ready to accept those new to the country with open arms.
So how do we use a shared identity as a tool to unify and enhance our communities? The answer is a philosophical one: it’s called Armenian First.
3. Being Armenian First
‘Armenian First’ is not about nationalism; it’s about understanding your Armenian heritage and using it to connect with others. It’s a personal philosophy that centres on unity and solidarity rather than division. It’s about one’s personal relationship and understanding of what it means to have Armenian heritage, and how to harness that.
At Kaitzak, we take a strengths-based approach as our fundamental philosophical building block: we focus on identifying the positives within our communities and then proceed to enarmour these. Armenian First can be understood in a similar way: let’s focus on what unites us, what we have in common (as discussed earlier with language and culture) and strengthen these existing links, with language being the first, critical step and then culture.
It is important to mention, but spend as little time as possible on, the counter approach: dividing over our differences. It’s easy to divide and to reserve cultural exchange within our communities through political divisions. Division always only serves a small number of individuals, while solidarity and connection serve the majority.
Armenian First is a great way to test the effectiveness of someone’s approach. Are they open to recognising our shared identity as a means of connection and unity first? Or are differences placed at the forefront of community interactions as a means of division?
For those who want to connect to the flowing lifeblood of Armenian culture while also doing their part in preserving not only traditions but the land of Armenia itself, Armenian First is the easiest and best way to approach others, Armenian or not. It’s something everyone should reflect on personally.
How Kaitzak Fits In
The Kaitzak platform allows cross-cultural storytelling to show (and prove) that we have much more in common than we do differences. As Kaiztak, we now have diaspora partners from all over the globe who believe in the Armenian First approach and care about not only the preservation of culture but also its enhancement and its use to help us grow stronger.
Kaitzak provides a non-denominational, apolitical platform for the participation and amplification of the global diaspora community.
So, What Do We Do Now?
The very first step should be to consider travelling to Armenia. For anyone who doesn’t know where to start with this, please contact Kaitzak. Beyond that, there are many ways to start personal cultural cultivation.
Follow the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs for programs that connect the diaspora to Armenia. Follow pages like Repat Armenia, Birthright Armenia, and Armenian Volunteer Corps for concrete pathways to volunteer and work in Armenia.
For those who can’t make the long journey to Armenia, enhance your language skills by participating in M.A.M’s innovative Armenian language and culture classes. Follow initiatives like reArmenia and Imast to find ways to contribute and get involved in real community projects from afar.
Join Kaitzak to share your experiences, publish articles, and find ways to get involved in diaspora projects both locally and abroad.
And most importantly, take the Armenian First approach back to your community groups and find allies with the same open and positive growth mindset. The biggest journeys start with a single step.
