Please join the Fletcher Eurasia Club and the Tavitian Scholars for a series of conversations examining the complex challenges and opportunities facing Armenia in the spheres of security, humanitarian affairs, economics, and business. The events will feature the Tavitian Scholars, who are currently studying at The Fletcher School, to provide insights into the country’s evolving security and humanitarian landscape, its efforts to ensure economic resilience, and the strategies it employs to foster entrepreneurship and investment. 

Through the series, we seek to contribute to a deeper understanding of Armenia’s current situation and explore potential paths forward in an increasingly complex regional context. The conversations will be held under the Chatham House Rule. The series is intended to be a scholarly dialogue, and opinions expressed during the sessions do not reflect the official positions of the institutions that the Tavitian Scholars represent.

The conversation will explore Armenia’s current security and humanitarian landscape. The participants will discuss the humanitarian challenges faced by Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, the implications of Armenia’s international legal claims, Armenia’s recent ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and the opening of regional transport links. The event is open to members of the Fletcher and Tufts communities and invited guests. Please register via the Google Form here to attend the event in person. Lunch will be served.

	Siranush Sargsyan served as the Chief Specialist in Education and political science on the standing committee for Education, Science, Culture, Youth, and Sport in Nagorno-Karabakh’s parliament for 10 years. She is also an accomplished freelance journalist covering human rights, politics, and women in conflict and post-conflict environments in Nagorno-Karabakh. As such, Sargsyan was one of the few journalists reporting on the ground, offering a firsthand account of critical events during the nine-month long blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and the final months of the unrecognized republic. Her insightful reporting has been featured in renowned outlets such as BBC, New Lines Magazine, Newsweek, Open Democracy, IWPR, and The Armenian Weekly. Sargsyan holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from the Faculty of History at Artsakh State University in Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabakh, and a Master’s degree in Political Science from the Public Administration Academy in Yerevan, Armenia.
	Karen Simonyan currently serves as the Head of the International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of High-Tech Industry in the Republic of Armenia. His extensive career includes prior roles as a Member of Parliament and Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on European Integration in the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia. With a strong academic background, Karen has contributed to academia as a Lecturer of Political Science across various universities. His entrepreneurial endeavors encompass leadership roles as the Chief Executive Officer of Nure LLC, Director of ArmAudioBooks LLC, and Editor-in-Chief at Impulse LLC, News Radio. He currently holds a Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Law from Yerevan State University and “Mkhitar Gosh” Armenian-Russian International University, respectively, a Master’s degree in Political Science from Yerevan State University, Faculty of International Relations, Department of Political Science, and another Master’s degree in Management from “Mkhitar Gosh” Armenian-Russian International University. Presently, he is engaged in research focused on National Security at Yerevan State University’s Chair of Political Institutions and Processes.
	Lusine Suleymanyan hails from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and currently holds the position of third-class Counselor of Justice at the General Prosecutor’s Office. Her work as a prosecutor has involved overseeing complex criminal cases and representing the State’s interests in court. She is also a member of the Ethics Commission under the General Prosecutor. Over the past several years, Suleymanyan has been instrumental in organizing international cooperation between law enforcement agencies in Nagorno-Karabakh and their foreign counterparts. She has played an active role in the development and adoption of legislation in the country. As a civil servant, she serves as an instructor of Criminal Proceeding Law, Comparative Criminal Law, and Crimes against Public Service while actively pursuing her Ph.D. She has also published scientific articles related to issues of electronic criminal proceedings.
	Mariam Tarverdyan is a chief specialist at the Office of the Representative of the Republic of Armenia on International Legal Matters. Her practice primarily focuses on international investment and commercial arbitration, and public international law matters, particularly involving protection of State interests in arbitration cases. Prior to this, beginning in 2016, she worked at the Ministry of Justice representing State interests before the European Court of Human Rights. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from Yerevan V. Brusov State University of Languages and Social Sciences, and a Master of Laws from American University of Armenia.