Gandzasar Monastery

In June the US State Department's annual international religious freedom report on Azerbaijan acknowledged for the first time the destruction of Armenian monuments in Artsakh and Nakhichevan, as well as reported efforts of rebranding Armenian heritage as "Caucasian Albanian" by the country. In order to understand the significance of this timely report the Armenian Institute will be hosting a live webinar and inviting key experts, including Simon Maghakyan, Ani Avagyan and Adam T. Smith, to discuss the findings of the report and tangible actions that can be taken as a result to further protect Armenian heritage in the region. This event follows on from previous webinars hosted by the Armenian Institute on cultural destruction and preservation in the region. This event is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Speakers:

Simon Maghakyan, Founder, Heritage Intel and Visiting Scholar at Tufts University and a non-resident PhD student in heritage crime at Cranfield University

A native of Yerevan, Simon Maghakyan is a Denver-based researcher and organizer. His civic tenure includes nonpartisan service at Colorado’s legislature, human rights monitoring and advocacy at Amnesty International USA, community development for 18 ANCA Western Region states, executive leadership at the Eastern Prelacy’s Save Armenian Monuments initiative, and service on the Western Diocese Artsakh Heritage Committee. Scholastically, Maghakyan is a lecturer at the University of Colorado Denver, non-resident PhD student in heritage crime at Great Britain’s Cranfield University, and Visiting Scholar at Tufts University. His initiatives include the Colorado State Capitol Armenian Genocide Khachkar Memorial, Djulfa.com, and the research firm Heritage Intel. Maghakyan’s writing has appeared in numerous media outlets, including Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. His collaborative 2019 Hyperallergic and 2021 The Art Newspaper investigative exposés of Azerbaijan’s cultural genocide in Nakhichevan have been cited in Armenia’s International Court of Justice case against Azerbaijan. The Guardian and Forbes Magazine have rated this research, respectively, “rock solid” and “groundbreaking,” and The Los Angeles Times has called Maghakyan “relentless.” 

Adam T. Smith, distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Anthropology at Cornell University and Director of the Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies (CIAMS).

Adam T. Smith is the Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Anthropology at Cornell University and Director of the Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies (CIAMS). He is co-founder, with Ruben Badalyan, of Project ArAGATS, a two-decade program of archaeological field research in central Armenia. And he is co-director, with Lori Khatchadourian and Ian Lindsay, of Caucasus Heritage Watch, a heritage research and monitoring program that uses high-resolution satellite imagery to track heritage destruction in the region. Smith has received numerous grants and awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2010. Smith’s publications include several books including The Political Landscape: Constellations of Authority in Early Complex Polities (2003) and The Political Machine: Assembling Sovereignty in the Bronze Age Caucasus (2015).

Ani Avagyan, Executive Director, Armenian Heritage Development Foundation

A cultural heritage management professional with two decades of experience in creating meaningful content in the museums on national and international levels and advocating for the field. A founder head of the Education Department at the National Gallery of Armenia.

Tatiana der Avedissian (Moderator)

A communications specialist, Tatiana is currently serving as head of business development for Economist Impact's World Ocean Initiative at The Economist Group (TEG).  She also sits on the group's sustainability steering committee. Tatiana has extensive experience in business development, strategic communications and management. A creative and solutions-driven thinker, she is passionate about sustainability, human rights, history, politics, philanthropy, and building the next generation of great leaders to champion important global interests that will change the dynamics in a complicated world. She previously worked for the Spectator and the Guardian News and Media. Outside of work Tatiana runs her own consultancy and uses her expertise to advise and support other organisations with their strategic communication and business needs. She helps lead the strategy and fundraising efforts for two charities in the UK, serving as trustee and co-president of Alkionides UK, and trustee and advisor of the Armenian Institute. Tatiana sits on a number of advisory boards and teaches ethics and politics for the Escuela de Gobierno Universidad Hemisferios in Ecuador.

This event is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.