‘Engage Armenia’ heads to Canada this October after strong turnout in Germany
TORONTOHYE—Repat Armenia’s travelling ‘Engage Armenia’ forum will soon make its way to Canada. The initiative, relaunched in 2024, has been expanding its reach across Armenian diaspora communities and will bring its 2026 program to Toronto and Montreal this October.
According to the repatriation-promoting non-profit, the ‘Engage Armenia’ initiative has connected in person with more than 1,300 diasporans across several countries over the past two years, introducing participants to concrete opportunities in volunteering, repatriation, investment, and professional engagement.
Nelly Poliakov speaking at Engage Armenia Europe 2024 (Photo courtesy of Engage Armenia)
“Since March 2024, we’ve held forums in seven different countries,” explains Nelly Poliakov, Head of Communications at the H. Hovnanian Family Foundation and forum emcee, in a recent sit-down with Torontohye. She says that living in Armenia for the past six years has allowed her to meet many Armenians from Canada who are active in their communities and in Armenia. “Meeting Canadian-Armenians made me realize how fascinating their community is—a community I knew almost nothing about when I was still living in France,” she admits. “I genuinely believe that going there and meeting people in person could take our initiative to a whole new level in terms of impact and interest.”
Its most recent stop—a five-city tour across Germany this November—brought 15 speakers from 13 Armenian organizations to Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg, and Berlin. The delegation included representatives from Birthright Armenia, Armenian Volunteer Corps (AVC), Teach for Armenia, TUMO, VIA Fund, Impact Hub, Health for Armenia, Primavera Foundation, and Repat Armenia. All events were hosted by Poliakov of the H. Hovnanian Family Foundation.
More than 400 people attended the German programs—a turnout organizers described as one of the strongest yet. Despite the country’s size and dispersed communities, audiences were highly engaged, with notable interest in business development, investment, and professional volunteering.
“I came to Armenia three years ago to offer my help and support, but no one really understood what I hoped to contribute,” mused one participant from Berlin. “Today, you came to where I live and answered all the questions I had back then. I was nearly in tears with happiness as I listened to each pitch. I will definitely join AVC to volunteer and put my skills to use. It’s exactly what I wanted to do three years ago!”
Former Torontonian Sisian Boghossian presenting at Engage Armenia Europe 2024 (Photo courtesy of Engage Armenia)
For Toronto readers, many of the organizations represented at ‘Engage Armenia’ are already familiar names. Over the years, numerous young professionals, students, senior volunteers, and even families from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have taken part in programs such as Birthright Armenia and AVC, and their stories have been frequently highlighted in Torontohye. The upcoming ‘Engage Armenia’ Canada tour offers a new opportunity for local Armenians to connect directly with these programs and explore pathways for contributing to Armenia’s future. The Toronto forum will take place on Thursday, October 22, at the Armenian Youth Centre (50 Hallcrown Place), followed by stops in Montreal on October 24 and 25 across two venues.
“We are hosting our next Engage Armenia Forum in Canada, because of the potential of this destination,” Vartan Marashlyan, Co-founder and Director of Repat Armenia, told Torontohye. “Canada has a highly professional Armenian diaspora, with communities that are well-organized, engaged, and connected to the homeland. Toronto and Montreal together form one of the strongest diaspora ecosystems in the world, something our 2018 ‘Imagine Armenia’ forums demonstrated, with over 400 participants and outstanding collaboration.”
Launched in 2013 as ‘Imagine Armenia’ and reintroduced in 2024 as ‘Engage Armenia,’ the initiative aims to remove barriers by meeting diasporans where they live. Previous stops include the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates. ‘Imagine Armenia’ took place in Montreal and Toronto in April and May 2018.
More information about ‘Engage Armenia’ is available at https://engagearmenia.org/. ֍
Video: Repat Armenia YouTube page
This article was published in Torontohye’s Aug. 2026 (#228) issue.
