Our 20th anniversary celebrations and fundraiser have finally come to a close, and it's success would not have been possible without the whole-hearted support of our team, friends and donors! Extending a massive thank you from all of us at AI, we’d like to close with some messages from our board.
Richard Anooshian
On its 20th anniversary, it is truly wonderful to see the AI evolve into a global cultural organisation, making Armenian culture relevant to so many. What an incredible journey. Here's to another 20 years of creative and inspirational work brought to us by some amazing folks.
Tatiana Der Avedissian
Happy 20th birthday AI! I am so proud to be part of this extraordinary organisation and serve as a trustee these last 2 years. I cannot thank Nourtiza and Susan enough for inviting to me to join the committee back in 2016, it is one of the best volunteering decisions I have made. I have always been keen to support Armenian-focused organisations, and AI is unique in its ability to offer so many dedicated programmes that promote Armenian art and culture and encourage us to have thought-provoking discussions on issues that matter to the global diaspora. We have hosted so many great events, from our annual Hrant Dink commemorations and live concerts to our informative diaspora forum series.
My wish for AI is to see it secure even more funding and support so we can deliver our programmes to an even wider audience, see our library expand and ensure it is accessible to more and more curious readers, and ensure the charity's future is safeguarded for years to come.
Arda Eghiayan
Happy Happy Birthday Armenian Institute – looking forward to the next 20 years and beyond.
Becky Jinks
I’m so proud to work with AI and to have watched it grow and step into new and exciting things over the last few years. Happy birthday, AI, you deserve a fabulous next 20 years.
Stephen Masters
My whole life seems to have been built up on a series of fortuitous accidents, and my involvement in the Armenian Institute is no different. A Google search for Armenian language lessons led to me learning Eastern Armenian at the Armenian Institute with Gagik Stepan-Sarkissian. A conversation at the end of a lesson led to me volunteering to digitise Leon Surmelian's I Ask You, Ladies and Gentlemen. As a result of that, I was asked to join the advisory committee, and some months later, on a very hot summer's day as I dried off from a swim in Royal Victoria Docks, I received a phone call from Belinda Keheyan, letting me know that the now sadly missed Ani King Underwood's tenure on the board of trustees was soon to end, and my name had been put forward to take her place. Given the enormous shoes that would need to be filled, I imagined that I had been included to make up the numbers, and I agreed without any expectation that I would be asked to take on that role. Shockingly (to me at least) it seems that the board selected me.
I had not been long on the board when the COVID-19 pandemic led AI to something of a crisis situation. Historically our activities and events were conducted face to face, and we found ourselves in a situation where those events could no longer take place. My overconfidence in my technical abilities led me to push for AI to set up a Zoom account and run events online. Fortuitously, this proved to be a turning point for AI. Since offering our events over Zoom, our audience has expanded internationally, and now we need to think about how we might continue to support our international audience, whilst also providing a level of physical events.
As AI reaches its 20th anniversary, I am excited by our new library space and the opportunities it offers, and my personal focus is on how AI can build this new community around the world and ensure that we continue to provide events that are engaging for our audience who cannot attend our events physically.
