The AUA community can connect and share their views and experiences outside of the classroom with the help of TEDxAUA, which was founded in 2018. It is the first and most established event among the TEDx university events in Armenia.
On April 15, AUA hosted the fifth annual TEDxAUA in Manoogian Hall. Every year, a central theme is chosen, and each speech delivered by the speakers is surrounded by it. The theme was “What if?” and the event had talks ranging from education to survivor’s guilt and underwater technologies.
Being a student-run event, TEDxAUA gives AUA students a chance to take on different roles, coordinate teams and volunteers, and develop new knowledge and experiences by staging a professional event that complies with international standards. Students apply to join the team every year when an application is sent through AUA email.
Behind every event is a team that makes it possible, which is no different with TEDxAUA. The members of the team who work closely with the speakers put in an immense amount of effort to make sure that the speeches are clear, understandable, and direct. Arpi Mouradian, BAB senior and the curation team lead shared, “My responsibility was to work as a team and to ensure the speaker can articulate their idea as seamlessly as possible to a crowd that is potentially not at all related to their field.”
The event’s co-organizers were Gayane Yesayan and Sona Gevorgyan, BAB and EC alumni, respectively. Both remained proud of their involvement with the TEDx community and joined TEDxAUA for the first time in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. “The takeaways of this event were the relationships we built together as a family since we had the opportunity to know and work with so many people. That journey itself was so valuable for Gayane and me as the co-organizers,” said Sona. Gayane shared that even though they have graduated from the university, they will continue supporting the TEDxAUA teams in future events.
Two faculty members, two students and an alumna of the AUA took the stage during the fifth TEDxAUA event. AUA’s adjunct lecturer, Gregory Chahrozian, gave one of the event’s speeches about his experience working with the TEDxAUA team. “It was wonderful. I think they deserve a lot of praise because they’re very patient, accommodating and supportive,” said Professor Chahrozian. He also praised the team’s professionalism by saying, “From an organizational perspective, they set, I guess, a very professional yet very realistic set of targets for me as a speaker and it was a lovely experience.”
The topics presented at TEDxAUA are relevant to Armenia and have resonated with viewers worldwide, adding a fresh viewpoint to the TEDx stage. Mery Shahnazaryan, an EC senior, attended TEDxAUA for the first time. “I enjoyed it a lot! My expectations of the event have been met as most speakers’ speeches amazed and inspired me because each brought a unique perspective.”
This year’s videos are available online on TEDx’s official YouTube channel. A lot of hard work, time and dedication is put in by a group of students and AUA Student Affairs to make a TEDxAUA event a success. Stay tuned for future events, and if you doubt your attendance, ask yourself, “What if I go?” It will make all the difference.
