Windham World Affairs Council will be shining a light on Armenia, a small landlocked country exactly at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Friday at the Centre Congregational Church, 193 Main St. Armenia has been through a remarkable process, a "Velvet Revolution," this year.

In April and May, weeks of mass, nonviolent, decentralized and creative civil disobedience forced a dysfunctional and corrupt administration out of office. To understand how this momentous change was accomplished without violence, we are fortunate to have as our guide Nelli Sargsyan, an assistant professor at Marlboro College. A native of Yerevan, Armenia, Professor Sargsyan has just returned from a visit there.

Nelli's talk, "The Importance of Feminist Knowledge in Political Change: The Case of 'Velvet Revolution' in Armenia," will focus on the ways Armenian feminists have been working for decades toward "a life of collective care" that prepared the country for the events of 2018. She will highlight their key role in creating the environment in which a "revolution of love and solidarity" could succeed.

The Friday talk will be an opportunity to learn about and be inspired by the events in Armenia this past spring. The talk, as always, will be free and open to the public. There will be coffee, tea and conversation from 7 p.m., and the talk will begin promptly at 7:30.

Jan 10, 2025, 5 to 6 PM

Jan 12, 2025, 3 to 5 PM

Jan 16, 2025, 4 to 4:45 PM