State Magazine February 2013 : Page 4

In the News Embassy Yerevan Innovates for Outreach Two months after a group of Armenian children used the Internet teleconferencing tool Skype to become friends and write a song with several Massachusetts youths, more than 1,200 guests filled Yerevan’s opulent Aram Khachaturyan Concert Hall as the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra performed the children’s piece, “Frenzy of Friendship.” The young composers then came on stage to take a bow, and the Armenian prime minister and U.S. ambassador exchanged high-fives in the audience. This was the scene in February 2012 when the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan kicked off a series of events to celebrate the 20th anniversary of U.S.-Armenia relations. A year later, the terms “Hyperscore,” “speed networking” and “flash mob” are part of the embassy’s everyday vocabulary. As Ambassador John Heffern noted recently, “This isn’t your daddy’s public diplomacy.” The youths’ musical collaboration was made possible through new institutional partnerships, technology and enthusiastic young people. Armenia’s Luys Foundation introduced the embassy public affairs section to Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Tod Machover, who with his team invented Hyperscore software. The software lets people compose music by “painting” images, colors, shapes and lines on a computer screen and converting those images into a musical score. Equipped with Hyperscore, the Armenian and American youths turned their innate creativity into “Frenzy of Friendship.” The collaboration reflected Embassy Yerevan’s efforts to support those who reach across borders to promote peace. The embassy, spurred on by its Armenian staff, adopted another innovation in 2012 that helped bring people together: speed networking, a social mixer that applies the rules of speed dating to professional networking. In a new twist on the concept of the official reception, speed networking guests are assigned to a table and have 10 minutes to introduce themselves and discuss a certain topic. Then, a whistle blows and everyone rotates to a new table and meets a new group of conversation partners. The post first used the concept to introduce the ambassador and his wife to a diverse group of exchange program alumni, and the couple liked it so much they invited participants in the post’s Women’s Mentoring Program to do speed networking at their home. The participants raved about that reception for weeks. Flash mobs are all the rage on YouTube, and Embassy Yerevan’s exchange program alumni wanted to be part of the action. So, the post’s series of 20th-anniversary events culminated in a flash mob dedicated to 20 years of U.S. government-funded exchange programs in Armenia. Though flash mobs look sponta-neous, the embassy’s was carefully planned. It involved a professional choreographer, who was also an exchange program alumna, and the U.S. Alumni Association of Armenia, which recruited more than 200 hundred alumni to participate in a dance, planned for a busy pedestrian street. Embassy officers gained the city’s cooperation and convinced the nation’s Ministry of Emergency Situations to lend assistance. Weeks of rehearsals resulted in a dance that showcased the charisma, energy and joy felt by exchange program alumni. Ambassador Heffern, right, and his wife Libby join a flash mob celebrating 20 years of U.S.-Armenia exchange programs in October in Yerevan. Photo by Isabella Zaratsyan Click here to watch a video from this event. 4 STATE MAGAZINE // FEBRUARY 2013

Previous Page  Next Page


Publication List
 

Loading