Armenian-American Forum 2025
Theme & Objective:
The theme of the first Armenian-American Forum is “Map Building.” This event aims to;
- Foster connections and collaborations across established Armenian-American organizations and individuals.
- Enhance the visibility and impact of the forum participants’ programs and activities.
- Identify and discuss community issues and capability gaps.
- Support nascent projects and organizations.
Topics:
The topics of the forum will be dictated by the participants that sign up for the event and designed to grow connections between the participants. The participants in each session will be asked to provide awareness of their existing efforts, learnings as a result of these efforts, and new opportunities they see. Tentative topics include;
- Best practices and showcases from various Armenian-American organizations
- Areas of unmet need in the Armenian-American community
- Lessons learned from past and present initiatives
- Potential areas of collaboration and partnership
- The innovative concept of the Network State
What The Forum Is Not:
The Forum is not about building consensus. Everyone will not agree with each other. We will not attempt to produce over-arching policy, this is not a congress. We are not interested in creating unity, we are interested in creating legibility and building meaningful connections.
The Armenian-American Forum is also not designed to convince anyone to move to Tennessee. The Hyeland Project is hosting the forum as a way for our small community in Tennessee to feel plugged in to the larger Armenian-American society. Awareness of the Hyeland Project and our new community in Tennessee is a benefit to our organization for volunteering to organize the event, but it is neither the focus nor a consequential component of the forum’s programming.
Location & Date:
The forum will take place at a hotel in Nashville, TN at the beginning of 2025. The exact location and date to be announced.
Speakers:
Garo Armen
Chairman and CEO of biotech company Agenus. Chairman and Founder of Children of Armenia Fund (COAF).
More speakers to be announced
Agenda:
Participants can look forward to a dynamic agenda featuring panel discussions, keynote speeches, lectures, and break-out/round-table discussions. The forum will include interactive Q&A sessions, a vibrant tabling/marketplace and jobs fair.
As we approach the date of the event, an exact agenda will be published.
Social Events:
Socializing and creating “collisions” is critical to unlocking value at the forum. Time will be set aside throughout the event for Networking. The day will culminate in a musical performance and a party. A post-event picnic at a state park in the Upper Cumberland will complete the weekend, hopefully cementing bonds that will last until the next forum.
Please reach out to participate in this forum if you are an Armenian-American (or allied);
- Intellectual/Academic/Artist
- Entrepreneur
- Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)
- Church Organization
- Community/Professional Organization
- Publication/Writer