The Tumo Center, etc.

There was a beautiful thunderstorm last night. I watched it roll in over the mountains from my window seat, and listened to the neighborhood children shrieking in the rain. The power went out so Laura lit candles and oil lamps and talked about the “dark years” when they never had electricity. Laura is truly a wonder. Within the span of two years she dealt with the death of her husband, the earthquake, an energy crisis, a war, and the economic collapse, all with four children and a full time job. I am humbled by the stories I hear – women giving birth by candlelight, having to scavenge for wood to warm their homes. Yet Laura still has a sense of humor and great joy. I’m going to miss her.

It was an extraordinary week. I went to visit the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies, a new nonprofit being built in Yerevan. It’s an innovative program and a beautifully designed building. It’s an after school program for Armenian youth, offering access to digital media and creative arts education. It’s meant to foster creativity, tech savvy and leadership among the young generation. There will be everything from gaming, to artificial intelligence to cutting edge contemporary art. It was designed as the antidote to Soviet construction: every element is open, transparent, adaptable and personalized. The Center will be opening at the end of the summer and it is an amazing symbol of the development happening in the country right now. Every detail of the Center is astonishing, from the design of the computer workstations (using Matrix-like “umbilical cords” to manage the wiring system) to the completely digitized lighting and heating systems. This is truly an exciting time to be in Armenia. While it’s grappling with so many problems still, it is exciting to actually watch the process of development. Of course much of the process has been slow, even misguided, but there are a lot of Armenians repatriating, investing and participating in the rebirth and growth of the country.

This week I also met with several other local activists for my research. One of them in particular stood out. She is a Diasporan who has lived here for a number of years and is active in a political party here. She was amazing. I loved hearing her tell Armenia’s history through her own personal story, and her ways of explaining how gender has evolved. She talked a lot about the Soviet influence, and how women bore the burden of reestablishing “Armenianness” and reproducing the traditional identity via their role in the home. She talked a lot about how colonialism has impacted politics here; how politics currently lacks any ideology, and how it’s more about competition between personalities and parties than concern for collective welfare. She talked a lot about the concept of statehood. There has been so much struggle for just survival here that the idea of collective action and the possibility of politics to further the state and its people, rather than special interests, is still developing (well, as it is everywhere). I predict she will be a rising star in politics. I told her to give me a call when she runs for office.

I also got to visit a wonderful indoor market with my Armenian class, and sample lots of delicious dried fruits.

Work is winding down, so I'm trying to get as much done as I can before I leave. One of the major problems that emerged from my strategic planning sessions with the Women’s Resource Center is media. The staff complained that they hate talking to the media and need to work on their PR plans. So this week I held a communications training at the Center, pulling from political and corporate trainings (thanks to Erika Soto Lamb for her help). We went over messaging and public speaking, and created practice news scenarios: I presented a crisis or event (that will likely happen in the next year) and each staff member had to craft their strategy and talking points, and then deliver public remarks and answer tough media questions. We were able to record the practice sessions and then analyze what worked and what didn’t, who had nervous tics, whose strategy worked, and so on. I thought it was great fun. Not sure if they did. But I hope it will be helpful.

Tomorrow I’m going caving again and visiting a honey farm. Very excited.