Less than a month ago, the profile of Armenia that lamented about Armenia’s economic and political problems rather than its successes, unique culture and large capacity to attract tourists. It came about because the profile that had been released on September 22, 2004 for Georgia, Armenia’s northern neighbor, praised that country for its “unique and ancient cultural heritage, famous traditions of hospitality and cuisine and an alphabet which is entirely its own” (see below for all links). A group of anonymous young Armenians caught wind of the stark contrast between these praises of Georgian culture, and the lack thereof for the Armenian language, culture, cuisine, hospitality and history. After all, the great linguist and philosopher Mesrob Mashdots assisted in the creation of both the Armenian and Georgian languages and much of the two nations’ history is intertwined. This group began telling their friends about the disparity, which slowly avalanched into an e-mail writing frenzy to the BBC via their feedback form (below).

Surely enough, the news agency listened and the profile was changed on September 29, 2004. Though much of the information had remained the same, the new profile credits Armenia by writing “[it] boasts striking scenery with high mountains and caves, lakes and hot springs”. It also recognizes the uniqueness of the Armenian language and history. Furthermore, the site identifies that “Armenia is richly endowed with potential as a tourist destination and recent figures indicate that some success is being achieved in attracting visitors”. It even goes as far to give a mention to the existence of the widespread Armenian Diaspora.

The site also contains pages for the regions and territories around the world that are not recognized as independent and either have de-facto status or are distinctively different part of another state. The same individuals realized that while the BBC had information on little known territories like Dagestan, the Trans-Dniester region of Moldova and other secessionist territories, there was no page in existence on Nagorno-Karabakh. This omission was even more perplexing, because Karabakh is a highly researched conflict, which is known internationally, and is the one territory that may have a chance at becoming a true state. Surely enough, the group’s persistence paid off, because just yesterday (October 20) the BBC created a page with a brief history of the region, the war and the current situation (below). The new page also contains information on the region’s statistics, leadership and press.

This small success is an important symbol for the Diaspora’s potential as an asset to help improve Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh achieve economic and political goals. In a world where education and information are so important, Armenians around the world can participate in numerous different ways using their strengths to contribute to the reputation of the country abroad and the truths about Armenian history. In 2001, the Armenian community in France amazed the Diaspora by persuading the French government to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Individual Armenians across the United States have donated crucial funding to build schools in Armenia and Karabakh to help the current generation of Armenian children to boost their hope for the future of the country. Others have come to Armenia to volunteer in hospitals, schools, government ministries and organizations. Wherever you may be and whatever you may be strong in, taking a few minutes out of your day to help Armenia strive in not only very convenient, but very effortless.

If you wish to access:

Armenia’s Profile, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1108052.stm
Georgia’s Profile, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1102477.stm
Nagorno-Karabakh, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/3658938.stm
or the BBC’s Feedback Form, see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3281777.stm