InternationalDonna Evans and Hranush Hakobyan to address AIWA Buenos Aires Conference in November
Published: Saturday October 04, 2008
Donna J. Evans, community activist and wife of the former U.S. ambassador to Armenia.
The Fifth International Conference of the Armenian International Women's Association, to be convened in Buenos Aires November 9 to 12, will have as its overall focus "Continent to Continent: Armenian Women Interacting in Worldwide Arenas."
In keeping with this theme, two special guests, one from the United States, the other from Armenia, will join the conference participants gathered in the capital of Argentina. Each will bring her particular expertise.
The keynote speaker, Donna J. Evans, of Washington, acquired a unique perspective on the lives of Armenian women when, from 2004 to 2006, she engaged in various charitable, educational, and development projects in Yerevan as wife of the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, John M. Evans.
Special guest Hranush Hakobyan, longtime elected member of Armenia's parliament, has come into special prominence in recent weeks as the head of the newly formed Ministry of Diaspora Affairs in Armenia.
The goal of AIWA's international conferences is to provide a forum for Armenian women from all parts of the world to come together, share experiences, and create short- and long-term strategies to improve their status.
The program in Buenos Aires will include sessions on Armenian women in politics, business, education, health, family life, culture, history, arts, and more. Previous conferences were held in London (1994), Paris (1997), Yerevan (2000), and Geneva (2004). Complementing the program in Buenos Aires will be a number of optional social activities designed to explore the dynamic Armenian community in Buenos Aires and the cultural richness of this first AIWA conference site in the Western hemisphere.
Donna J. Evans
As president of the World Affairs Council of Washington, Ms. Evans managed a membership organization of over 2,000 local business leaders, foreign diplomats, young professionals, teachers, students, and seasoned policy professionals. She developed and implemented programs on international affairs for the general membership and educational programs for teachers and students. She has served on World Affairs Councils of America leadership delegations to Israel, Taiwan, and Germany.
Ms. Evans also worked as development consultant at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and as regional country director for Northwest Russia of the International Executive Service Corps. She is the founding executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Prague, and served as associate director for external relations in Eastern Europe for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington.
Ms. Evans is Board chair of the Armenian American Cultural Association and honorary chair of the Armenian American Wellness Center. She serves on the board of the Children of Armenia Fund. She is a member of the American News Women's Club, the Women's Foreign Policy Group, and the National Museum of the American Indian.
Hranush Hakobyan
Hranush Hakobyan has held several prominent political positions in Armenia. In addition to her election to parliament as representative from the Gavar region in several recent elections, she is one of only three women to have held cabinet-level position in independent Armenia; she served in 1996-98 as minister of social security.
Before her current assignment to head Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, Ms. Hakobyan chaired the parliamentary Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, and Youth Affairs. For several years she headed Armenia's delegation to the international Inter-Parliamentary Union, and has attended meetings in many countries in that capacity.
For the past several years Ms. Hakobyan has been president of AIWA's Armenia affiliate, and she served as the Armenia chair of AIWA's International Conference held in Yerevan in 2000. She is also co-president of the American Armenian Wellness Center.
Trained as a mathematician, Ms. Hakobyan also holds a doctorate in law, teaches at Gavar State University, and is the author of two monographs and several articles. She rose to prominence in the Soviet era as the head of Komsomol, the Communist Youth Union.
Final preparations
The AIWA East Coast Committee, chaired by Eva Medzorian, and the West Coast Committee, chaired by Lily Ring Balian, working in conjunction with the local Buenos Aires committee headed by Madlen Tcherian, are currently engaged in the final planning for the conference. Enthusiasm and interest to attend the conference in Buenos Aires is very high, and the response has been encouraging.
AIWA was established in 1990 as an independent, nonprofit, nonsectarian organization designed to advance the visibility of Armenian women. Open to all who share its goals, AIWA has supported health, educational, and social programs in Armenia, held numerous lectures, workshops, and programs dealing with issues of interest to Armenian women, instituted a scholarship program, published several books, and established an Armenian women's network.
Further information regarding the international conference or other activities is available by contacting AIWA at 65 Main Street, #3a, Watertown, MA 02472; email: aiwainc@aol.com; web: www.Aiwa-net.org; telephone: 617-926-0171 or 562-943-1081.
