The presentation of Sassoon Krikorian's ″Smart Nation: A Blueprint for Modern Armenia″ book, published by the London Gomidas Institute, took place on September 27, 2016 at the Armenian Cultural Center of Welupy. The event was organized by the Literary Committee of Hamazkayin Australia under the patronage and in presence of His Grace Bishop Haykazun Najarian, Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Australia and New Zealand. The presentation was attended by one hundred of Armenian and non-Armenian audience.
Experienced presenter Nora Bastachian welcomed the audience in the name of Committee in English and Armenian, and before inviting Dr. Stepan Kerkyasharian to the stage, she briefly explained the importance of Sassoon Krikorian's research for our Homeland. Dr. Stepan Kerkyasharian presented the book, and in his preamble he quoted testimonies from Herodot and Charles Goodrich about the smartness of the Armenian people. He spoke about the important inventions of Armenian scientists used in the service of humanity.
In the 17th century, Shah Abbas ordered the mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of Armenians from their locations and they settled in Persia. This fact also speaks about the smartness and diligence of the Armenian people. "Not only the average person of Armenian origin is smart, but also the entire Armenian nation. And though Australia is the most distant country from Armenia, a smart young Armenian presents here in Australia a blueprint for prosperity to his smart people," said Dr. Kerkyasharian.
Continuing his speech, Dr. Kerkyasharian said, “Sassoon Krikorian deeply understands and is committed to improving the welfare of humanity. He well knows Armenia, its history and culture, as well as its prospering capacity. Sassoon also knows the leadership qualities of Armenians. He believes that Armenians should continue their participation in the resolution of issues bothering the humanity. It is something that Armenia and Armenians have been doing for millennia. The ideas of this book are clear, and there is coordinated approach to assumed responsibilities and to cooperation between the native government and the Armenian political and social organizations acting in the Diaspora and Homeland. No irrelevant word is used in this book."
Then, one by one, Dr. Kerkyasharian presented the main ideas of each chapter of the book. This 140-page book studies the challenges, which Armenia faces today in the sphere of technology, foreign policy, culture, governance, corruption (koruptsia), Regional Development, Diaspora and Nagorno Karabakh. It suggests practical solutions, which must be taken into consideration by the governments of Armenia and Artsakh, as well as the organizations of Diaspora. At the end of his speech, Dr. Kerkyasharian concluded that "Sassoon Krikorian has made a great research in service of Armenia and the Armenian people and especially those who have assumed responsibility to contribute to the development of a peaceful and progressive world. This book is a blueprint for not only the Armenian leadership, but also for non-Armenian businessmen and political leaders."
The author of the book Sassoon Krikorian delivered a speech saying that his approach to the issues concerning Armenia has been scientific, practical and profesional. Let us note that Sassoon Krikorian worked as a consultant to the Prime Minister of the New South Wales State and many international companies, whose total revenue is more than Armenia’s ″Gross Domestic Product″. He says, "If I can give recommendations to others, why should I not be able to give them to our Motherland." Speaking about his generation's responsibility, Sassoon Krikorian said, "I beieve that my generation both in Armenia or in the Diaspora should leave a strong economy to the next generation living in our Homeland.
Recently, the US Vice President Joe Biden stated in his speech in Australia that for achieving success it is imperative to have high quality and successful workforce. Armenia has such. Armenians are smart as a nation, and Armenia is a country having developed literacy and leadership in chess; many important inventions, such as the MIG fighter aircrafts, CT Scanners, ATM, have been made by Armenian scientists. Speaking about the enormous progress made by countries like Israel and Estonia, especially in the sphere of technology, Sassoon Krikorian said,"These small countries, like Armenia, are devoid of natural riches, and their most important properties are their human resources.
My book gives recommendations in various fields, especially technolody, foreign policy (negotiations, levers, to be less dependent on Russia, etc.), culture, and especially women's rights, how to fight against corruption, how to manage, the economic prosperity in the regions of Armenia, in the Diaspora and Karabakh, etc.″ Then Sassoon Krikorian talked about the three main issues: a) Armenia's technology, which has increased by 25 percent from 2014 up to now, provides income of 475 million USD. Sassoon advises to follow the example of Singapore, to form a reasearch center operating under the leadership of Prime Minister. ″This center should include internationally renowned Armenian and non-Armenian business people from the sphere of technology. b) The reopening of Turkey-Armenia border without preconditions is a must. It is true that the Turkish-Armenian Protokols failed for many reasons, but their motives were positive. In any case, the closed borders contradict the principles of the International Trade Organization. Meanwhile Armenia and Turkey are members of that organization. We should not immediately start speaking about the Genocide and Karabakh after the opening of borders. These issues should be discussed later, after the opening of borders. C) Soft Power (SP). SP means having the ability to shape up others' priorities by making impression and influence on them, and culture, political values, foreign policy and gaining confidence are the factor signals. Armenia has Diaspora and knowledgeable and conscious youth. They are important signals in the sphere of SP. We should be able to use Social Media (Facebook etc.) that allows quick establishment of international links. Naturally it was not possible even to think about it before we started to use the Internet. SP is today's new power, which the Foreign Ministry of Armenia should be able to use in the best way.″ Sassoon concluded his speech by saying: "Armenia's democracy is new, but its heritage is old. Armenia has always managed to survive, now is the time to prosper."
After his speech, the author gave satisfactory answers to the questions.
It was a commendable initiative of the Hamazkayin Literary Committee.
Hamazkayin is carrying out its mission.
Nishan Basmajian
