Since the war in Syria began, a large number of Syrian-Armenian refugees have opened businesses here in Armenia with the hope of not only generating sustainable income, but also integrating into their new community and regaining some much needed stability in their lives. These entrepreneurs are all extremely resilient and resourceful, but if they possessed the market visibility equal to those of their local counterparts, they would be able to not only survive, but thrive in Armenia.

In the past there had been several waves of repatriation, which have strengthened Armenia and made the realization of the Armenian nation-state project possible. In the rapidly changing, globalized world of today, repatriation may become indispensable not only for the survival and development of Armenia as a country, but also for the survival and development of Armenian identity and culture globally.

What new challenges were waiting those young people, who decided to make one of the important steps in their lives – to come to Armenia and build their future here. We asked a few young repatriates to provide with a short guideline for those, who are preparing to move to Armenia for the first time.

Birthright Armenia builds a bridge between Diasporan Armenians and their ancestral homeland by providing volunteering opportunities to young Diasporans from around the globe. We spoke to Sevan Kabakian, the organization’s country director, about volunteerism as a tool to help Diasporan youth to establish a strong cultural and intellectual connection with Armenia.

One of the major principle that Repat Armenia Foundation concentrates on, is the promotion of the concept of repatriation and providing an objective review of the real opportunities and perspectives of repatriation. The Foundation informs, initiates and actively champions the return of high-impact (professional, entrepreneurial) individuals and families to Armenia to secure the future development of the Armenian nation.

The Repat Armenia Foundation, a non-governmental and non-profit organization, was established in August 2012 to take the concept of repatriation to the next level, complete with a full time, dedicated professional staff based in Yerevan and a network of active supporters worldwide. Regional Post talked to Vartan Marashlyan, the co-founder/Executive Director of Repat Armenia Foundation about the importance of repatriation, the Diaspora’s attitude on the subject, as well as current developments and challenges faced by the foundation within its mission in creating a better Armenia.

Regional Post talked to a senior partner in McKinsey & Company consulting firm, Co-founder and Trustee of Repat Armenia Foundation and Arar Foundation Avetik Chalabyan about challenges that Diaspora and Armenia face in 21st century and his vision of nation’s future.

This August Yell Extreme Park, located in Tavush region, celebrated its two years anniversary. While hundreds of guests were enjoying live shows by Aram MP3, Nemra rock band and other artists, and of course trying extreme entertainment (most notably zip-line and paragliding), the main topic of the day was the world’s longest zip-line - Park’s ambitious project.

Every year Armenian environmental activists warn us about new and devastating cases regarding the felling of trees in the forests, particularly in the North of the country, in and around Dilijan National Park. Sometimes the Government will respond, initiate an investigation, and in most of the cases it either turns out that the felling is legal, or some of the lower level forestry officials are fined, fired or imprisoned. So, what is the current situation of our forests, what did it look like in the past, what do we want it to be like in the future, and how do we achieve this?

In 2013, upon the initiative of Hilda Tchoboian, the Regional Councilor and current Vice-President of France Armenia International Network, some French-Armenian friends came up with the idea of founding a purely economic association which would bring together the leaders of the Rhône-Alpes region’s economic life, the second region of France in terms of economic dynamism. This new unique project attracted the attention of business leaders, and consequently, quickly associated themselves with the network.