Los Angeles, July 26, 2015 — On Saturday, August 8, Stepan Partamian will kick off the much-anticipated Knowledge Truck project, a nationwide, month-long public-awareness campaign that will celebrate American-Armenian contributions to the United States of America and humanity.
At the heart of the initiative is the Knowledge Truck, a 12-passenger van whose interior has been minimally modified to make room for a mattress. Partamian will travel in the Knowledge Truck throughout the 48 states of the Contiguous US, making stops at hundreds of popular venues such as monuments, festival sites, public parks, and promenades, where the Knowledge Truck will serve as a mobile information center. At each of these stops, Partamian will set up a large television screen on the vehicle to show continuous loops of short videos about outstanding American-Armenians and their works.
The Knowledge Truck will attract spontaneous audiences, Partamian explained. The videos he will show, each a mini documentary, will present the rich tapestry of American-Armenian contributions to American civilization and humanity as a whole, encompassing numerous fields of endeavor such as art, literature, science, technology, diplomacy, academia, politics, medicine, journalism, cuisine, and sports, among others.
Partamian will also be on hand to answer questions from visitors. Additionally, he will hand out copies of a booklet published specially for the project, containing additional material about American-Armenian achievements. Partamian will use the Knowledge Truck as a home away from home, sleeping in the vehicle at night, to keep project costs to a minimum, he said.
“Now that commemorations of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide are over, I’m launching the Knowledge Truck project as an unconventional, but highly effective, conduit for raising grassroots awareness of American-Armenian contributions to American civilization and humanity,” Partamian said. “I think this project is entirely relevant to the Genocide centenary because most of the individuals featured in my videos have been Genocide survivors or are children of survivors. Collectively, they represent the Armenian people’s extraordinary capacity for renewal.
“Many of our non-Armenian fellow Americans know very little about Armenians,” Partamian continued. “The Knowledge Truck project is designed to help fill that gap, by educating regular Americans — through a fun, dynamic, and visually engaging medium — about the wonderful role that American-Armenians have had and continue to have in the greatness of America,.”
The information that will be disseminated through the Knowledge Truck has been painstakingly researched and compiled by Partamian in the course of the past decade. The material is published in Partamian’s Yes, We Have series of books. It’s also available on the April 24 App, which can be downloaded to mobile devices free of charge.
“The April 24 App, as well as the Knowledge Truck project, are my gifts to the Armenian people,” Partamian said. “I think Genocide-centennial commemorations have their proper place, but ultimately mean little if we don’t take innovative actions that produce tangible results. It’s why I’ve been working so hard on the Knowledge Truck project, and why I actually worked on April 24 this year to donate my earnings of the day to Armenia Fund, in support of their pioneering program to boost the economies of rural communities in Armenia’s Tavush Region. Finally, I think it’s important to remember that my projects are implemented without any institutional backing, therefore relying on grassroots support. The down payment on the Knowledge Truck, for instance, was made possible by small donations, and I’m hoping there will be additional assistance to offset the cost of the project.”
To facilitate community support of the Knowledge Truck initiative, Partamian has established a nonprofit organization, Knowledge Truck, Inc., to which tax-deductible donations can be mailed at Knowledge Truck, Inc., P. O. Box 287, Glendale, CA 91209 or by visiting knowledgetruck.org.
Partamian announced that following his month-long road trip across the 48 states, he will take the Knowledge Truck on a more extensive tour of California.
