Thursday, May 21, 2015 @ 7:30PM, In the Aram and Anahis D. Boolghoorjian Hall of the Merdinian School: 13330 Riverside Dr. Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 Abstract: The presentation will be an overview of the current economic situation in Armenia, will provide positive case studies to support a positive outlook on diasporan’s ability to succeed, as well as discussions regarding the importance of getting involved both in Armenia and Artsakh. Special consideration will be given to the IT sector and information on available resources will be presented. Information shared will consist of key indicators, which will allow participants to gain an understanding of the state of the economy in Armenia measured by the internationally accepted metrics. The important industry segments in Armenia and specific industries with a higher potential for success will be discussed.

Challenges in doing business and exploring options will be highlighted and personal experiences in running a software development office as well as a hotel in Artsakh will be presented. Information about critical steps to be taken in the current economic conditions in Armenia, which should enable them to make educated decisions on taking a step towards possible investment in Armenia, will be underlined.

Alec Baghdasaryan was born in Tehran Iran on December 4^th 1958. Upon graduation from high school in 1976, Alec travelled to US in order to continue his education. He graduated from the California State University Northridge in 1981, with a Bachelor of Science in Management Systems Analysis. Alec founded Information Integration Group (IIG) in 1991 and since then IIG has been providing computer based Business Management Solutions to medium size companies. IIG is a Microsoft Partner and a reseller of Sage100 ERP, Sage300 ERP, Sage 500ERP, Sage X3 ERP and Sage CRM products. In 1999, he established an office in Yerevan, which develops software products offered by IIG to its US based clients and employs over 30 programmers. Alec is involved in many projects both in the local Armenian community and in the homeland. His Yerevan office has trained many IT professionals who, after working for the Yerevan office for a few years, started their own successful software development practices in Armenia. Since 2009, Alec has been managing the Avan Shushi Plaza hotel in Shushi, Artsakh and has been organizing the Avan Shushi Plaza Poetry Festival for the last 3 years. Students from 7 countries take part in this poetry contest in Shushi.

Last year for the first time, thanks to the Western Prelacy’s leadership role, the poetry contest was held in Southern California. Following this contest in May, some of the contest winners participated in the Shushi event in August. The goal of this program is to nurture love for poetry and provide an opportunity for the youth to visit Armenia and form friendships. He has been a supporter of Javakhk for many years and this year, the Avan partnership will be providing special training to kids from Javakhk. For the past 10 years, Alec has served as a board member of The Armenian Educational Foundation (AEF) and has taken part in AEF’s projects in Armenia, such as coordination of the efforts for establishing a four year computer science degree program in Stepanakert’s University. Each year, additional students take part in the computer science degree program, ARPA INSTITUTE, 18106 Miranda St, Tarzana CA 91356, USA . Phone (818) 453-0618