This past week, Sara Anjargolian, Chief of Staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, was on a working visit to New York. Our office hosted a convening of Diaspora organizations working to improve the lives of women and girls in Armenia. During the full day meeting, representatives from over 10 organizations participated including the Armenian Relief Society (ARS), AGBU and AGBU Hye Geen, the Armenian International Women’s Association, the Women’s Support Center, Girls of Armenia Leadership Soccer (GOALS), the Hovnanian Foundation, the UN Women’s Guild, NGO CSW, NAASR, and several others.
During the meeting Ms. Anjargolian presented the vision and work of the Office, and Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Zaruhi Batoyan  joined via video call, to present the Republic of Armenia’s gender strategy.
Ms. Anjargolian then led the participants through a mapping exercise where the work of each organization was outlined, areas of collaboration were identified, and aligning Diaspora efforts with the government’s gender strategy was discussed.

While in New York, Ms. Anjargolian also participated in the “Women Shaping the World” conference, hosted by AGBU, where she led a working group focused on increased engagement with Armenia, as well as made opening remarks at a book launch event hosted by “One Armenia” non-profit organization and Mr. Vahan Zanoyan at the Tufenkian Carpets Showroom.