February 18, 2015
USC INSTITUTE OF ARMENIAN STUDIES
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, USA
Contact: Salpi Ghazarian, Director
[email protected]
213.821.3943
INNOVATE ARMENIA
Innovate Armenia, a festival of innovation, is a program of the USC
Institute of Armenian Studies, and will take place all day on the USC
Campus, in Founders Park, on Saturday, February 21.
The tightly-packed schedule for the day begins at 10.00 a.m. with
artist Vahe Berberian on the indoor stage and the band Ooshatsank on
the outdoor music stage. The program will continue by featuring tech
companies from Armenia, tech entrepreneurs from California, innovative
civil society, as well as media and educational organizations from
Armenia and the Diaspora.
The outdoor stage will be a festival of old music fused with a
contemporary flair, performed by familiar and new names: Sima
Cunningham, Bei Ru, Element, Palm of Granite, Greg Hosharian Trio,
Antranig Kzirian, Artyom Manukyan and Vahagni, Capital Cities’ Sebu,
and the Collectif Medz Bazar from France.
Throughout the afternoon, global change-makers Alexis Ohanian, Raffi
Krikorian and Lara Setrakian will be speaking about innovation and the
importance of asking the right questions and searching for
out-of-the-box answers. In the same spirit, #InnovateArmenia will be
the hashtag used by participants and those in the Twitterverse will be
invited to articulate the issues facing community and nation. Some
questions require rigorous scholarship and
ongoing research; others need new thinking and new approaches to
reformulate questions.
Everyone is invited to participate. The event is free. Public is
invited to arrive early, enjoy innovative food, listen to creative
music and engage
in thoughtful conversations. Exit the 110 Freeway at Exposition
Boulevard, make a right on Figueroa Street, and follow the signs.
For updates and more information, please follow the USC Institute of
Armenian Studies on social media:
Twitter: @ArmenianStudies
Facebook: /USCArmenian
INDOOR STAGE – ENTREPRENUERS
Taper Hall of Humanities, Auditorium 101 (First-come, First-seated)
10:15 am Artist Vahe Berberian
10:45 am Filmmaker Eric Nazarian
11:15 am Al Eisaian presents Zangi, LionSharp, HIVE, Teamable, as well
as Paolo Pirjanian of iRobot, Zareh Baghdassarian of Armorway and
Alexander Seropian of HALO
12:30 pm Alexis Ohanian
1:00 pm Alex Sardar presents TUMO, Homeland Development Initiative
Foundation, Paros Charitable Foundation, Houshamadyan, American
University of Armenia, Foundation for the Protection of Wildlife &
Cultural Assets
2:00 pm Lara Setrakian
2:30 pm Alex Sardar presents CivilNet, Birthright Armenia, Repat
Armenia, Urban Lab, Impact Hub, the Armenian Center for Contemporary
and Experimental Art
3:30 pm Raffi Krikorian
4:00 pm Raffi Krikorian, Alexis Ohanian & Lara Setrakian in
conversation with Salpi Ghazarian
In between presentations, photos from Scout Tufankjian’s ARMENIAN
DIASPORA PROJECT will be featured.
OUTDOOR STAGE – MUSIC, OLD & NEW
Founders’ Park (Outdoor Seating)
10:00 am Ooshatsank
11:00 am Sima Cunningham
11:45 am Palm of Granite
12:30 pm Greg Hosharian Trio
1:15 pm Antranig Kzirian, Artyom Manukyan & Vahagni
2:00 pm Bei Ru
2:30 pm Bei Ru (Speaking)
3:00 pm Element Band
3:40 pm Collectif Medz Bazar
4:10 pm Sebu
###