On February 1st the Armenian Institute will host an online discussion featuring a panel of young people from the UK’s Armenian, Greek Cypriot and Kurdish diasporas. The event explores the historic and present connections between the communities, their traditions, and the shared as well as different experiences of migration and diaspora life in the UK.
Armenians, Greeks and Kurds have shared histories going back centuries in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, and these continue today in the communities’ UK diasporas. These shared histories resonate in interconnected traditions of food, music, dance, dress, family life and more besides, while at the same time there remain particular differences in the experience of migration—within as well as between each community.
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Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking discussion, as our panellists draw on their lived experience to share their thoughts on these issues.
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ZOOM LINK
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85384463453
Meeting ID: 853 8446 3453
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SPEAKERS:
Raphael Gregorian; Elif Sarican; & Christos Tuton.
Moderators: Tatiana Der Avedissian & Nik Matheou
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BIOS:
Raphael Gregorian was born in London to a mixed Armenian-Cypriot and Armenian-Iranian household and has been involved in the London Armenian community from a young age. Raphael is an economist at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and enjoys watching foreign cinema and going on walks and hikes.
Elif Sarican is an anthropologist (LSE), writer and organiser. She is the co-chair of the Kurdish People’s Assembly in the UK and an activist of the Kurdish Women’s Movement, where she works on communicating the aims of the women’s liberation programme to a diverse international audience.
Christos Tuton was born and raised in North London and is president of NEPOMAK, the World Federation of Young Diaspora Cypriots. He also works for the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK, the UK Cypriot community’s representative body. Christos studied Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE) at the University of York.
Tatiana Der Avedissian is a communications specialist and works for The Economist Group as a business development manager, responsible for the commercial development of the World Ocean Initiative. Tatiana also runs her own consulting and communications firm, offering strategic support to select organizations and individuals. She previously worked for the Guardian and the Spectator.
Tatiana uses her expertise to support strategy and fundraising development for two charities in the UK, serving as trustee and vice-president for Alkionides UK, and trustee and advisor of the Armenian Institute. She is also a member of the board of advisors for the Shirley Chisholm Education Foundation. More recently, she was invited to teach a program on ethics and politics for women working in leadership roles in Ecuador.
Tatiana is completing her executive education in public leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. She is the London ambassador for their women's network and co-chair of their W3D (Women in defence, diplomacy and development) network. Tatiana now joins W3D's board of directors taking on the role of fundraising chair.
Nik Matheou was recently appointed programme manager at the Armenian Institute and has Greek Cypriot heritage. He is a social historian specialising in Armenian history and culture, and an activist for social, political and economic issues in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, especially supporting and raising awareness about the Kurdish Freedom Movement.
