YEREVAN (DiasporArm) — During the Armenian Society of Fellows (ASOF) 2026 conference, DiasporArm attended not merely as an observer, but as an active contributor. Its founder Hovel Chenorhokian brought three concrete initiatives to a dedicated side session on diaspora relations, each addressing challenges that ASOF itself places at the heart of Armenia’s future: closing the leadership gap, building Armenopedia, and launching Luys — The Armenian Channel.
- Bridging the Armenian World Leadership Gap
Chenorhokian opened with an unsparing diagnosis: we have no collective leadership. There is no pilot in the cockpit. Across our fragmented communities, we lack a shared long-term vision, the institutional grounds for cooperation, and the structures to coordinate our considerable — but dispersed — resources. Our existing institutions are not the obstacle; they are assets. But they must be encouraged and incentivized to cooperate rather than compete.
The response, he argued, is to create the conditions for thought leadership to emerge: individuals with the vision to see fifty years ahead; the wisdom to overcome our fragmentation and build cooperation across the nation; unquestioned integrity and trust; proven excellence in their own field; and above all, humility — not seeking to become the boss, but choosing to serve.
Such leadership would pursue four objectives. First, making a shared national identity genuinely take hold across all our differences. Second, bridging the structural gap of the Diaspora and organizing our collective resources — because the problem is not Armenian generosity, but the absence of a unified, trusted fundraising structure. Third, setting a level of ambition for Armenia and Armenians on the global stage: influential political leaders, ministers, prime ministers, a strong media presence, Armenian unicorns, Nobel Prize laureates — within twenty years. And fourth, placing on the agenda issues no one else is touching.
One example: the Mekhitarist Congregation. Fourteen clerics remain. The Vatican has appointed an administrator. Yet this Congregation — with chapters in Venice, Vienna, France, Lebanon, and Egypt — holds material and immaterial assets of immense national value. The issue is on nobody’s agenda. It should be on ours.
Given the diminished credibility of our political and religious institutions, this leadership must emerge from our two most solid remaining pillars: academics and entrepreneurs. Qualified individuals exist — people not seeking titles or recognition. We need to bring them to the table.
