Armenian and American Ambassadors Discuss Cultural Diplomacy

In the United States, there have been pockets of Armenian presence for 400 years, Hovhannisian said, but on the aggregate level, Armenian culture is largely unknown despite its tremendous and ancient legacy. Consequently, he said, “our office and others are trying to use the wealth of culture to introduce Armenia.” They rely heavily on the culture produced in the Armenian diaspora, since Armenia is a “glocal” nation, meaning local in day-to-day issues in the Middle East but global with a culture cultivated in over 100 countries throughout the world. “There is tremendous wealth,” Hovhannisian said, “that we have to learn how to market and present.”

Ramen then asked the ambassadors to turn to the role of the Armenian diaspora in culture and diplomacy. Hovhannisian said that during the years that the Soviet Union instilled its own culture on Soviet Armenia, the Armenians abroad developed more freely, and their culture in turn influenced the culture of the third Armenian republic. It also supports today the cultural initiatives of the Republic of Armenia. He gave the example of partnerships with major American institutions like the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Getty Museum, which would not have been possible without diasporan generosity and enthusiasm.

Mills pointed out two ways in which the Armenian diaspora was a partner for the US embassy. The US does not have a ministry of culture or other arm of the government charged with cultural outreach. Consequently, the embassy can highlight ideas for cultural events showing shared values between the US and Armenia and the diaspora through its foundations and donors often funds these events in a way the embassy cannot do.

Secondly, the diaspora, Mills said, gives feedback to the embassy, suggesting that there should be a focus on certain things or pointing out misunderstandings. Mills gave the example of the shortage of information technology specialists in Armenia because of the rapid growth in this sector. Diasporan Armenians asked whether the US could recraft the Fulbright program to give more Armenians IT training in the US, and indeed, through the support of a large Armenian family foundation, half a dozen new Fulbright scholarships in the IT area were created.

Mills said that cultural diplomacy changed over time. During the Cold War period, he said, “we needed to show the world that American culture could thrive, [that] it was inclusive, it was valuable.” That was no longer necessary in a globalized world. Instead, he said, “We use culture, I think, in a more targeted way now to promote specific ideas and specific values that the United States believes makes the world safer, makes the world a stronger place.”

Hovhannisian recalled that during the Soviet period, his father clandestinely listened to Voice of America on his radio early in the morning. The Armenian diaspora also served as a little opening to the broader non-Soviet world in those days.

Both Mills and Hovhannisian praised the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), which was created in the early 2000s by the US government to support endangered cultures. Mills said that the reason why Americans were supporting rebuilding cultural heritage in other countries is that “this is our shared heritage. This is mankind’s heritage that we are preserving…we all benefit when we preserve these great pieces of our common culture.”

The US embassy, working with the Armenian ministry of culture and local Armenian communities, has funded several projects, the biggest of which at present is the renovation of frescoes in a medieval Armenian church in Meghri, a town on the border with Iran. The Christian iconography has been influenced by Persian art. Mills said, “It is an incredible kind of metaphor for how Armenia has been on the crossroads between all these cultures.”

The embassy, working with the AFCP, was able to get a grant to restore the frescoes, which were falling into ruin. This also encourages cultural tourism and spurs other efforts to restore the old town of Meghri, which hopefully will be a part of the development of the rural regional economy of Armenia. Hovhannisian exclaimed in response, “Bless your heart! That is the talk of America that we love. And I also thank the American taxpayers for making this facility available to ambassadors.”

At the end of the dialogue, the two ambassadors fielded questions from the audience on a wide variety of topics. One interesting point that came up, according to Mills, was that Armenia even before the recent revolution had a fairly open media environment. He said that to his chagrin, Freedom House even rated the Armenian social media environment freer than that of the US in 2016. It was this social media that played a big part in the movement of Nikol Pashinyan and the Velvet Revolution.

Mills did have one concern about the realm of cultural media. He said, “There is a Russian dominance in the Armenian media space in terms of news, in terms of news channels, and even in terms of some of the creative programming, some of the fictional programming. The Russian media companies have every right to enter the Armenian market. My  concern frankly as the American ambassador, is just, I would like to see a little more alternative Western news programming, creative programming, not because we want to challenge what Russian programmers are giving Armenians, but to give Armenians a different view, just a different perspective, of what is happening in the world, so that they can make their own assessments, about what they are hearing from Russian media, versus what they may be hearing, if they have access to it, from the Western media, whether that is BBC, or CNN or Fox, or whatever.”

To remedy this situation, Mills said the embassy is working with several cable providers to get more access for Western news programming in Armenia. He confessed that, “That is hobbled quite frankly by still the low level of English language skills, especially outside of Yerevan. That is one reason why we put a lot of money into English-language programming. Not because we think every Armenian needs to learn English, but English is the international world language now….It gives you access to different views of the world that you can then use to make your own decisions.”

The panel discussion was supported by the Hirair and Anna Hovnanian Foundation, Birthright Armenia, and the Armenia Volunteer Corps.