Diaspora Youth Ambassador

Ani Daspanyan

My name is Ani Daspanyan. I was born in Yerevan. I moved with my parents to the Kingdom of Sweden in 2014, where I have been living for the past ten years, but still keeping the Armenian spirit as the biggest part of my identity.

I graduated from the Politics, Philosophy and Economics department of the University of Manchester (England) in July 2024 with a First-Class Honours bachelor's degree, and from September I will continue my education at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) as a master's degree in economics.

Along with education, I have been engaged in political activity since the age of seventeen. In 2018 I won the Young Liberal of the Year award. As a member of the Swedish Liberal Party, as well as a regular participant in the party's youth wing, I have held various positions within the party, trying to defend Armenia and Artsakh, and raising awareness about the Armenian Genocide. I achieved success through publishing articles in Swedish newspapers, participating as a live radio broadcaster on radio and hosting programs about Armenian history and culture in international organisations like the "Swedish Church" and the "Swedish International Rotary Club". I was the youngest candidate in Ulricehamn in 2022 and currently I am a member of the leadership of Ulricehamn "Liberal" party. In addition to my political activities in Sweden I have also been a member of the information team of the Free Youth of Europe movement, the youth wing of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE) since 2023, where I have not missed a single opportunity to raise numbers of issues related to the protection of the interests of Armenia.

Love and nostalgia for the homeland contributed to my active work in the social activities of the diaspora. Between 2022 and 2024, I continued my studies in the UK and received temporary residence. I actively participated in the activities of the Armenian community in Manchester, teaching the Armenian language at the Armenian Sunday school and participating in the organization and implementation of a number of public events.

Back in Sweden, I continued my social activities in the Gothenburg Union “Regional ArmActive” as the head of the youth wing of the union, where I am dealing with various organizational issues and teaching the Armenian language.

In my free time, I love to create, especially writing poetry, which is often a way to introduce Armenia to foreign audiences. One clear example of this was my participation in a year-long "Traces of Deportation" exhibition at the Whitworth Art Gallery in England, where I read three original poems in English covering the forced removal of Armenians as a result of the 1915 Armenian Genocide and the 44-day Artsakh War and its consequences. Currently I have two poetry collections published. The first one, “Two Wings,” was published in Sweden in 2019 and includes poems in Armenian, Swedish and English. This book was the reason for the Swedish newspaper “Boros Tydning” to include me in the list of “30 talents under 30” in Sweden. My second book, “Before the Meeting,” was published in 2023 in Armenia.

As a Diaspora Youth Ambassador in Sweden, I want to organize and implement a number of events in the coming year that will contribute to the preservation and transmission of Armenian values and identity to the young Armenian generation in Sweden, present Armenian culture to the Swedish public, contribute to the development of communities and strengthen ties both in the homeland, and in the rest of the Diaspora with the Armenian communities.

I am sure that the Diaspora is an important support for the homeland, and on the way to building a strong homeland the consolidation and cooperation of young people, as well as the exchange of knowledge and experience is crucial. I am grateful that the Diaspora Youth Ambassador Program provides us with such an opportunity.