2007 Fellowship Program fellows

Creating a Democratic Armenia Together. The Problem of Adaptation for Diasporan Armenians in Armenian Society

Anahit Mkrtchyan will investigate the problems Diasporan Armenians encounter when they immigrate to Armenia. Particularly, she will explore what expectations immigrants from the Middle East, North America and Europe have before coming to Armenia; what difficulties they face upon moving to Armenia, and how supportive the formal and non-formal structures are in overcoming their full integration into Armenian society. The fellow intends to conduct a thorough literature review, as well as focus groups among immigrants of various age groups using ‘purposive’ sampling techniques to measure their satisfaction with regard to education and employment as well as the cultural and political life of the country. She will also conduct interviews among 50 experts from Armenian and Diaspora cultural, educational, governmental/political, and religious organizations and NGOs to assess the readiness and willingness of formal and non-formal structures to support the adaptation of Diaspora Armenians in the country. The recommendations developed as a result of this study may help policy makers and corresponding organizations in Armenia and abroad to alleviate the problems of integration of Diaspora Armenians into Armenian society, thus, making Armenia more attractive for Diasporans. The results of the study will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal and disseminated through the CRRC website.

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