AUA Hosts the Fifth TEDx Event
4 min readYEREVAN, Armenia — On April 15, the American University of Armenia (AUA) hosted the fifth annual TEDxAUA in Manoogian Hall. Themed “What If,” the event featured talks on a variety of topics ranging from what it means to be an educator to underwater technologies, and from acting to survivor’s guilt.
The fifth TEDxAUA event brought to the stage five speakers from the AUA community of faculty, students, and alumni. Using the TED conference format of short and powerful talks, the speakers shared their unique experiences to inspire the audience and make them think about what-if scenarios in their personal and professional lives.
Among TEDxAUA speakers were Dr. Garabet Kazanjian, aquatic ecologist and AUA adjunct lecturer; AUA alumna Iren Stepanyan (BAEC ‘18; CTr ‘20), teaching associate for the AUA Acting Techniques course; AUA student Mirna Bzdigian (BAEC ‘24), Miss World Armenia 2021 and a professional swimmer; Gregory Chahrozian, educator and adjunct lecturer at AUA; and Alexandr Hakobyan (BSES ‘23) National Public Speaking Champion of Armenia and systems engineer at Bazoomq Space Research Laboratory.
AUA Interim President Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian made the opening remarks, in which he reflected on the historic meeting that led him and his colleagues to establish AUA and pondered what if he had not attended that momentous gathering.
Following Dr. Der Kiureghian’s remarks, the founder and licensee of TEDxAUA, AUA alumna Seda Babayan (BAB ‘19) was on the stage: “I’m happy to see how much TEDxAUA has grown. What started as an idea has now become a beloved tradition and an integral part of AUA’s culture. The impact of TEDxAUA extends far beyond the AUA community, and it has been incredible to see the ripple effect it has had on so many different people and generations of the AUA community.”
TEDxAUA is a learning experience for everyone involved, especially for the students who organize the event every year with the support of AUA Student Affairs. Being a student-organized event, it provides an opportunity for AUA students to take on various roles, get team members and volunteers organized, and gain new skills and experiences by putting up a professional event that meets global standards. “It makes me extremely happy and proud to see so many students involved in continuing the mission of TEDxAUA,” Babayan added.
This year’s co-organizers were Sona Gevorgyan (BAEC ‘23) and Gayane Yesayan (BAB ‘23). Both first joined TEDxAUA in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and continue to be proud of their association with the TEDx community.
“We worked online back then. It was quite a challenge. Since then, we have grown a lot. Three years later, when we were selected to be organizers, we took the responsibility as a learning opportunity,” Yesayan recalls.
The event sought to bring together critical thinkers with innovative approaches to tackling various situations, providing them with a platform to share their unique perspectives and untold stories. This year, TEDxAUA was attended by over 250 faculty,staff, alumni, and students, including speakers, and organizers from the previous five years, as well as local community members.
The hosts of the TEDx event, AUA undergraduate students Nanor Bchtikian (BAEC ‘24) and Hrach Arzumanyan (BSCS ‘26), explained that the “What if” theme was chosen to encourage the community to consider the possibility of things being different from how they appear.
During the event, the audience enjoyed a musical performance by AUA students, pianist Arsen Avetisyan (BAB ‘23) and cellist Maria Mirzoyan (BSES ‘24), as well as an art activity by three talented students of Terlemezyan School of Fine Arts, Hasmik Karapetyan, Viktorya Budaghyan, and Gayane Paremuzyan. During the activity, the artists asked the audience to name colors and created a painting with the colors that were mentioned.
“The people that we worked with while preparing for this event and the relationships that we have built go beyond the TEDxAUA team. It is no longer just about planning an event; it is about being part of a family,” highlighted Gevorgyan. The co-organizers wish for TEDxAUA to keep growing, further spreading the TED culture at AUA and beyond.
Established in 2018, TEDxAUA provides the space and platform for the University community to connect and share their insights and experiences beyond the classroom. It is the first and longest-running event among the TEDx university events in Armenia.
Over the years, TEDxAUA has had truly incredible speakers, who have shared their unique ideas, touching stories, and challenging perspectives that have inspired others to think and act differently. It has become a tradition for students, alumni, faculty, staff, and other members of the local community to come together yearly and discuss ideas that matter, fostering connections and a sense of continuity among different generations.
The ideas at TEDxAUA are relevant to Armenia and have resonated with audiences worldwide, bringing new perspectives to the global TEDx stage. As a part of the global TEDx movement, TEDxAUA serves as a two-way platform for spreading ideas from AUA to the world and bringing new ideas from around the world to campus.
This year’s videos will be available online in the upcoming weeks.
About TEDx:
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At TEDx events, TED talks, videos and live speakers are meant to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are organized by respective groups.
About TED:
TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less) delivered by today’s leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks originate at TED’s annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, and are made available free on TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman. Follow TED on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TEDTalks, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TED or Instagram at https://instagram.com/ted.
Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.
