President Serzh Sargsyan presents the award to iPod Developer Fred Fadel.

iPod Creator Receives Presidential Award

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YEREVAN (Public Radio of Armenia) — The 2017 Presidential Award for Global Contribution in the Field of Information Technology was presented on November 17 to iPod developer Tony Fadel, who also founded Nest Labs Company.

Hovik Musayelyan, chairman of the Executive Board of the World IT Awards Committee, first presented the background history of the Presidential Award for Global Contribution in the Field of Information Technology, the principles steering the Award Committee and the International Selection Commission, established by the decree of the president of the Republic of Armenia, and the world-renowned award-winners.

He highlighted Armenia’s competitive edge in the priority sector of information technology, the great potential that dates a far back as to the Soviet Armenia, which later became a solid basis for further development.

Musayelyan also spoke about the joint State-private sector initiatives aimed at promoting the development of the IT sector, many of which have become traditional already. The floor was next given to Award Committee member Tony Moroyan who presented the life story of this year’s award winner.

President Serzh Sargsyan presented the prize to Fadel, and delivered a speech at the reception held on that occasion. Fadel reciprocated with words of thanks.

The president said, “I am happy to hand the Presidential Award for Global Contribution in the Field of Information Technology to Tony Fadel, the founder of Nest Labs. He is really one of those people who are shaping our everyday life and lifestyle in this digital era.

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“During its millennial history, the Armenian people has always sought to master and adapt to the local medium everything progressive in the world. This award is the manifestation of our mentality, ideology and aspirations.”

He continued, “For over a decade now, our country has been looking for a niche in the global market of information technology in quest of new achievements. There are about 600 IT companies operating in Armenia, including many world-renowned organizations. This has helped solve the problem of employment for about 20,000 people.”

And then he added, “We should have thousands of IT companies and hundreds of thousands of specialists working in the field of information technology. That is why we need a dynamic system of special education, and we have a lot to do in this regard. The decades-old traditions and the youth with a strong will shall serve as a solid foundation for achieving those goals. That is my vision. We shall have many new professionals who will bring our country to the point of changing their work and the overall climate in the country. They will break the psychological template of being a ‘small country’ which sometimes comes to the forefront in our society.”

He then praised Fadel’s innovations. “I think Mr. Fadel’s solutions relating to iPod players or other innovations should be instructive for our specialists. He has gone through deeper roads overcoming difficulties, learning new lessons on his way to success. … With this award, we wish to highlight the achievements of your team and yourself in the field of iPod players, iPhones, thermos-regulators, safe and smart toys for children, and much more. I hope you will be able to present your success story to our students and professionals and encourage them to reach new heights.”

Sargsyan praised Fadel’s efforts despite failures along the way, noting that “failures are another step forward on the way to achieving the desired goal.”

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