What if Armenia was the center of the world

L’UGAB France is a partner of the Kometa magazine, whose latest issue “ What if Armenia was the center of the world ? » is out today in bookstores.

The launch party for this special issue will take place tomorrow, Friday November 15 at 7:30 p.m.

At the Armenian Cultural CenterUGAB118 rue de Courcelles 75017 Paris,

with guests Serge Avedikian, Tigrane Yegavian, Taline Oundjian and Constant Léon.

What would the world look like if dominant influences were overthrown ? What would be our bedside books, our dreams, our legends ? For the first issue of a collection placing a country at the center of the map, the independent magazine Kometa chose Armenia, land of fire, ashes, resistance, faith, culture and celebration.

This issue brings the country to life and vibrates without confining it to its only painful history. There we meet descendants of Stalin's returnees and fanciful filmmakers, a Turkish prisoner and Armenian volunteers, adventurers, writers, musicians, a researcher specializing in the study of mushrooms. Story tellers and memory keepers.

Serge Avedikian

The French actor, director, screenwriter and producer of Armenian origin, awarded for his works on Armenian memory, has worked for cinema, television and theater. Serge Avedikian will be present at theUGAB and will interpret exchanges of letters between him and his friend Osman Kavala, imprisoned in Türkiye.

Constant Leon

Constant Léon is a radio journalist by profession (RFI) and documentary filmmaker (RTS). After 4 years of correspondence in Armenia, he moved to Brussels to continue writing his first fiction novel around an intimate museum, while writing his first radio fiction around sexualities. The journalist will read exchanges of letters between him and his friend Heghine.

Tigrane Yegavian

Researcher at the Institut Chrétiens d'Orient and journalist, Tigrane Yegavian is a specialist in the geopolitics of the Middle East and the South Caucasus. During the evening, he will focus not on what Armenia is, but on what it is not. Small inventory à la Prévert on stage.

Taline Oundjian

Taline Oundjian is a journalist and writer of Armenian origin, specializing in human rights and cultural issues. She will tell a family story, that of her grandmother Serpuhi, who grew up in the same orphanage as Mélinée Manouchian, before going “ building the Armenia of tomorrow!» in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Dziran

Dziran is a collective of young musicians passionate about Armenian music. They want to share it by mixing traditional instruments, such as the kanon and duduk, with modern arrangements on piano and drums. Their innovative approach gives new life to folk melodies.