The San Francisco affiliate of the Armenian International Women’s Association (AIWA) invites you to join us in going back to our roots as the first wine makers in the world to drink and celebrate the fruit of our labor.  Please come and participate in this fun event where we will be sampling four wines, eating tasty appetizers and network with other remarkable, professional women. 

AIWA background: 

AIWA is a non-profit organization established in 1991 with a mission to promote and enrich the social, economic and personal advancement of Armenian women worldwide through educational and other community activities that unite Armenian women, promote gender equity, and emphasize the Armenian cultural heritage. 

Without alignment to any political or religious group, since its inception AIWA has been successful in bringing together creative women of various generations, diverse in interests and academic backgrounds, to fulfill its mission. 

The SF affiliate was launched in January of 2012 by young Armenian professional women from the Bay Area, who were very inspired to make a difference after attending the annual AIWA conference in San Francisco in October 2011. 

Location: 
Deloitte 555 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Parking is available in building
BART (Montgomery Station) 

Please RSVP by May 25th, 2012 by registering at http://aiwamixer-efbevent.eventbrite.com.

For more information, please do not hesitate to reach out to executive committee members Laura Dirtadian at ldirtadian@gmail.com or and Suzanna Khachatrian at siouza@gmail.com.

The San Francisco Affiliate of the Armenian International Women’s Association (AIWA) invites the Bay Area parents to give their children this unique opportunity of participating at a ballet workshop conducted by a talented young Armenian ballerina, Victoria Ananyan.  As part of its mission, AIWA SF is committed to identifying gifted Armenian women worldwide and promoting their unsurpassed talent in a broader community.

When: Sunday, June 10, 2012
Participants: Children ages 6 – 14 (the workshop is open to anyone who has had at least a year of dance training; please bring ballet shoes and dance clothes)
Registration Fee: $35 – second child $20 (please pay at the door) 
Where: Pacific Ballet Academy, 295B Polaris Avenue, Mountain View, CA

Please click here for more information.

Norsigian is executive director and primary spokesperson for the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, a non-profit women’s health education, advocacy, and consulting organization. She also serves on the board of Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research and on numerous other advisory and editorial boards.

Norsigian had been an author and editor of all editions of the organization’s landmark book on women’s health and sexuality, Our Bodies, Ourselves. The ninth and most recent edition of the book was published by Simon & Schuster in October. The organization has also produced single topic books on menopause (Our Bodies, Ourselves: Menopause) and pregnancy/birth (Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth).

The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective is widely known for its reliable, evidence-based information (both in its books and blogs) as well as its extensive advocacy of midwives and safe choices in childbearing. Our Bodies, Ourselves has appeared in 26 foreign languages, with about 4.5 million copies in print world-wide. The second edition of the Armenian-language translation was issued last fall.

A graduate of Radcliffe College, Norsigian has received numerous awards, including an honorary doctorate from Boston University. She appears regularly on national television and radio programs in discussions about various aspects of women’s health. She has been seen on Oprah, the Today show, Good Morning America, The Early Show, and NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw.

Pricing for the event is as follows:

Members: $35
Non-Members: $45
Students: $20

Please register and pay for this event by clicking this link.

The AIWA workshop focused on issues relating to the position of rural women in Armenia, enhanced by perspectives gained from programs developed in other nations. Illustrated presentations by two professionals experienced in working with rural women evaluated various strategies used to address the empowerment of women.

The first presenter, Sara Anjargolian, is a photographer and attorney in Los Angeles who has documented the lives of the Zulu people in South Africa, the plight of the extreme poor in Armenia, and the status of refugees living along the border with Azerbaijan in Armenia’s rural areas. She spoke about the power of images to inform and inspire social change, and about her personal transformation while spending time with these groups.

Anjargolian also addressed the benefits of partnering documentary photographers and media professionals with aid organizations, focusing specifically on how narrative imagery can empower the individuals depicted and help contextualize their unique challenges and triumphs.

The second presenter, Ana Cristina Schirinian, divides her time between Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Yerevan, Armenia (and often places in between). An attorney by profession, she is special assistant to Edwardo Eurnekian, head of Corporación América, an Argentine holding company active in a number of diverse industries, including airport construction and management.

ARLINGTON, Mass. – On Sunday, January 8, the Armenian International Women's Association (AIWA) New England affiliate held their third annual Armenian Christmas Celebration at the Armenian Cultural Foundation. A large turnout of members, relatives and friends enjoyed festive holiday cheer. Carolyn Atinizian, president of the AIWA New England affiliate, opened with a Power Point introduction summarizing AIWA's purposes and recent activities. Featured guest Rachel Kaprielian, Massachusetts Registrar of Motor Vehicles, offered inspiring words for the group. She spoke about the rewards of public service and encouraged women to enter this field. Women are often reticent and tend to feel they have to know everything before taking on something, she said. "Just get in there," she advised. "You can ask people to teach you what you need to know once you are there." She talked about her public service at the age of 22, when she first ran for Watertown Town Council. Trying to decide whether to enter the contest, she asked her father, "What if I lose?" He replied, "So what?" With that encouragement she jumped into the campaign and won. She went on to become the state representative for Watertown in the state for several years. In office, she constantly reminded herself to "be confident; you were elected for a reason." She noted, "You get knocked around, but you get up, dust yourself off and keep going." She thanked the Armenian community for their support over the years.

(L-R) Olga Proudian, Heghine Mkrtchyan, Eva Medzorian, Anahid Mardiros, Alisa Stepanian, and Gayane Seppelin

They have low self-esteem. It is very sad,” Mkrtchyan said. AJAKITS, which means “Helping Hands” in English, was the first of its kind non-governmental organization in Armenia to address domestic violence, with programs that help raise self-esteem and self-confidence; the establishment of a 24-7 telephone hotline in 1998; and the first battered women’s shelter run by volunteers.

2012-2013 Scholarship Application

Over 200 women leaders convened in Yerevan in May for a two-day conference designed to attract greater attention to women’s issues and to increase women’s political representation and participation in Armenia. Under the theme “Supporting Women’s Political Participation in Armenia: A Nationwide Women’s Conference and Women’s Platform,” the gathering featured speeches and panel discussions by prominent American and European officials. Below are the opening remarks made by the US Ambassador to Armenia, Marie L. Yovanovitch, who has since completed her 3-year assignment in Armenia and returned to the United States. “The United States has made empowering women and girls one of the cornerstones of our foreign policy. I can’t help but think about all the remarkable and talented women I have met over the last three years here in Armenia and how much the country will benefit when Armenia’s women are fully represented at the decision-making table. We really hope that this conference is one of the steps towards making it possible. I hope that you will make this conference an on-going, continuous, and sustainable network for sharing and debating ideas, setting priorities, supporting each other, and working together across political party lines, not just to promote dialogue, but to bring about the reforms that will strengthen Armenia and create the bright and prosperous future here – in Armenia – that your children deserve.