“Partam: All Things Armenian,” a powerful app providing a wealth of information about modern Armenian identity, was released on April 24, on the occasion of the 99th anniversary of the Genocide.
The Partam app features high-quality photos and descriptions of Armenian landmarks and institutions throughout the United States, profiles of hundreds of eminent Armenian-Americans, and information about numerous Armenian commercial establishments.
The geographical material is searchable by US city and categories including Armenian Centers, Schools, Churches, Khachkars, and Genocide Memorials. Users can click on any entry to see maps and driving directions. In addition, they can directly connect with their destinations of choice through the provided phone, Web, and email links.
The Partam app’s geographical destinations are complemented by a treasure trove of information about outstanding Armenian-Americans, including inventors, scientists, artists, writers, political and military leaders, athletes, entrepreneurs, and others. The information includes biographical profiles, photos, and reproductions of US patents.
Partam app users can get registered, create bookmarks, and leave comments.
“It’s all about instilling in our youth an awareness of their cultural heritage,” said Stepan Partamian, the creator of the app, which is being offered to the public free of charge.
“I’m launching the Partam app as a major project connected with the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Genocide,” Partamian continued. “I am gifting this app, which is the culmination of ten years of my work, to the Armenian nation, as a tool for Armenians throughout the world to research and rejoice in their cultural identity, and also, ultimately, to help bring the worldwide Armenian community closer together.”
During the past decade, Partamian has traveled throughout the US, Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere to research and photograph Armenian landmarks and institutions. Concurrently, he has compiled a vast amount of material on Armenian-Americans who have contributed their talents and inventions to American civilization. His documentary work has been published in several books (all available at TheArmenian.com), and is now being made accessible through the Partam app as well.
“At a time when most Armenian organizations are still in protest mode, planning the same old marches, going through the same routine, I thought of offering our youth a concrete, progressive, up-to-the-minute tool to foster in them a powerful awareness of their cultural heritage,” Partamian said. “My position is, ‘Yes, we lost 1.5 million compatriots and we lost our lands, but we gained the world.’ The 1915 Genocide was a failed attempt to annihilate our nation. The Partam app is my answer to that failed attempt; it celebrates our comeback, our victory, as a people.”
Partamian said that the Partam app will be a “work in progress,” in the sense that material will be added to it in the months leading up to April 24, 2015, and enhancements will continue to be made afterwards. “By the centenary of the Genocide in 2015, the Partam app will include photos and descriptions of Armenian landmarks and institutions in not only the US, but also Lebanon, Cyprus, Italy, Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, and the UK,” Partamian explained. “I have already documented Armenian landmarks and institutions in these countries, and will continue to do so in other countries where there are Armenian communities.”
“To date, over $100,000 have been spent on research, traveling, and photography,” Partamian said. “This is a one-man project, with no support from any institution. By the time all the photography and research material I’ve gathered over the past decade, including Armenian landmarks and institutions outside the US, is featured on the Partam app, the total price tag will reach $300,000.”
Partam app is available for the iPhone, through the App Store. And for Android devices through the Google Play.
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Stepan Partamian is a Television talk-show host, renowned for helping shape public discourse in Los Angeles, Armenia, and beyond through his politically incorrect commentaries and analyses of current affairs.
