Friday, August 5, 2022
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
NEWSLETTER
ՀԱՅ
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
ՀԱՅ
No Result
View All Result

In Memoriam: Varoujan Koundakjian

by Contributor
July 29, 2016
in Community, In Memoriam, Top Stories
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Varouj Koundakjian
Varouj Koundakjian

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western US Central Committee, on July 15, announced the passing of one of the organization’s leaders, who played a key role in the development of our national community institutions and a devoted ARF member, Unger Varoujan Koundakjian who passed away on Friday, July 14.
During Koundakjian’s funeral service on July 21 at St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church in Glendale, Very Rev. Viken Vassilian presented Koundakjian’s biography and remembered him for his dedicated service to the community and the Armenian homeland.
Below is the English translated text of the presentation.
Varoujan Koundakjian was born on April 24, 1934 in Beirut, Lebanon to Vartan and Ovsanna Koundakjian, both survivors of the Armenian Genocide.
Vartan escaped the Genocide from Antioch, while Ovsanna Soghomonian escaped from Kessab ending up in Beirut, Lebanon via Greece. They met in Beirut, where they married in 1929 and had three children, Arpine, Alexan and Varoujan.
At a young age, Varoujan moved to Damascus with his parents, and lived there until 1946. There he attended the United School until fourth grade and became a cub scout in Homenetmen, until the age of 12.
In 1946, Varoujan and his family returned to Beirut, where he immediately began working, getting his start in the business world at a very young age. He began as a retailer and soon burnished his business prowess becoming an expert in textiles. From 1960 to 1962, Varoujan managed his brother Alexan’s talor shop where their sister also worked as a seamstress.
From a young age in Beirut, Varoujan immersed himself in community life, joining Homenetmen as a scout and as a member of the Kessab Educational Association. He then joined the renowned Hamazkayin Kaspar Ipegian Theater Company, taking on a variety of roles in a number of plays, enjoying the theater and reveling in the cultural and social life that came with it.
Varoujan was an active part of Beirut’s social, cultural and political reality. He engaged in social services and organized fund-raisers, always becoming an example to donors. He played an integral role in the “Plate of Food” campaign and the “Green Sunday” Cultural Festival efforts.
At the same time, Varoujan also played an important role in Lebanon’s local elections. He educated and empowered community members to become active participants in the political life and even transported people from their homes to the precincts to ensure that the community turned out to vote.
In 1952, Varoujan joined the ranks of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation in Lebanon and began his service to the Armenian Cause through that party.
To pursue his education, in 1962, Varoujan moved to Los Angeles, where his sister Arpine was already residing, and enrolled in the Los Angeles Trade Technical College, receiving an Associates Degree in Window Display Design in 1964.
From 1965 to 1975, Varoujan worked at Diamond Tools company with Manas Boujikian. At the same time, in partnership with Manas and Mgrdich Mgrdichian, and his brother Alexan, he established a number of businesses among them the Van Liquor company.
In 1975, Varoujan established his own company. Diamotec Inc. which continues to be a leader in the semiconductor industry until today.
In Los Angeles, Varoujan joined the Hamazkayin theater troupe and again began living in the cultural milieu with his friends and acquaintances. He encouraged and financially supported burgeoning Armenian-American artists whether in the theater, the arts or literature. His personality allowed him to easily maneuver the worlds of business and culture and to appreciate and live within the artistic realm.
It was during his involvement in the Hamazkayin theater troupe that he met Armine Carapetian, whom he married in 1969. They had two children, Sevag and Lalig. Sevag married Yerado (Abrahamian), while Lalig married Aram (Aslanian), and Varoujan and Armine were blessed with their grandchildren Kami and Alik.
Since his arrival in the United States in 1962, Varoujan had an active and productive role in the ARF. He played an influential role ensuring that ARF Gomidehs have their own community centers and was especially instrumental in the establishment of the Torrance and Hollywood community centers, which until today are a gathering place for these communities, especially for their youth.
In 1978, Varoujan was elected to the ARF Central Committee, under the chairmanship of Razmig Madenlian. He was re-elected to the body in from 1980 to 1984 under the chairmanship of John Titizian, and again in 1986, under the chairmanship of Vartan Fundukian. He remained on the Central Committee from 1988 to 1990 under the chairmanship of Kevork Santikian. During his tenure in the successive bodies, he was always appointed the treasurer.
In 1989, Varoujan became a driving force in the establishment of Horizon Armenian Television.
From 1990, with his friend Manas Boujikian, Varoujan served on the ARF Bureau’s Finance Committee and during his tenure he undertook several successful ventures that ensured continued financing of the global organization. Varoujan also had the privilege of attending the ARF’s 24th World Congress, which is the party’s highest body.
He was a founding member of the Armenian Cultural Foundation Trust Fund in 1987 and was an ardent supporter and generous benefactor to the Armenian National Committee of America, whose worked he encouraged on regional, national and international levels.
He also served on the executive board of the Armenian Educational Foundation, serving at times as the ARF’s liaison to the AEF. Through his initiatives and the work of the AEF, numerous schools in villages in Armenia were renovated. The improvement and elevation of Armenian schools gave Varoujan great joy and he took pride in the accomplishments of Armenian students.
Varoujan played a key role in fund-raising efforts for Hampig Sassounian and the LA 5 defense efforts, through his own generosity, which served as encouragement and an example for others.
Since Armenia’s Independence in 1991, Varoujan brought his positive and beneficial input in construction projects in Armenia. For him, the most important concern was the development of the country in all facets. His financial and moral assistance to villagers, the poor, students and lay citizens became a key factor in Varoujan’s life. In addition to construction projects, Varoujan also played a role in the advancement of Armenia’s agriculture and farming sector, because Varoujan believed that the development of villages was an important part of the development of the entire country. He was recognized for his contributions for the development of livestock industry in the village of Gousanagyugh.
His unwavering encouragement and support of the arts and artists in Armenia spanned the spectrum of theater, music, film and other cultural fields. In 1995, he and Manas sponsored the renovation of the Hovannes Toumanian House and Museum in the village of Dsegh.
One of the centerpieces of his accomplishments in Armenia was the construction of a mixed-use building on Yerevan’s Northern Avenue, which he oversaw and executed. The building was unveiled in 2008 and a portion served as his residence in Yerevan, which had become his and his wife’s home. He partnered on this project with long-time friend Hank Dorian.
In 2011 he became a partner in the VEKS Company, which specializes in the manufacture of furniture, stone and metal production sold in Armenia and abroad. His aim in joining VEKS was to create more than 300 jobs in Armenia, and he succeeded in doing so.
In 2014, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia bestowed the coveted “Cilician Knight” medal upon Varoujan, for his continued service to the community, for his generosity to the needy and to organizations that advanced the causes in which he believed.
Varoujan was an innovative thinker. He was adept at finding solutions and confronting challenges. His agile mind enabled him to excel in every pursuit . As a talented businessman and a connoisseur of the arts, he traversed and reveled in both worlds. He never forgot his humble beginnings and shared his successes with all those in need at the earliest opportunity. His tangible and intangible support of farmers, artists, entrepreneurs, community activists and partners in cause alike is innumerable and invaluable. And the humility and modest manner in which he conducted his acts of kindness is a testament to the great man that he was.
Varoujan Koundakjian left all these accomplishments and his rich life behind when he passed away at on July 15, at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. He is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren.

Contributor

Contributor

Next Post

Conscience Asks…

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Construction of Road Bypassing Lachin to Begin Next Month

Residents of Artsakh’s Aghavno Village Told to Evacuate by August 25

2 hours ago
Pashinyan Accuses Azerbaijan of Wanting to End Karabakh Ceasefire

Pashinyan Accuses Azerbaijan of Wanting to End Karabakh Ceasefire

18 hours ago

Connect with us

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

Accessibility

Accessibility modes

Epilepsy Safe Mode
Dampens color and removes blinks
This mode enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode
Improves website's visuals
This mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode
Helps to focus on specific content
This mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode
Reduces distractions and improve focus
This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode
Allows using the site with your screen-reader
This mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.

Online Dictionary

    Readable Experience

    Content Scaling
    Default
    Text Magnifier
    Readable Font
    Dyslexia Friendly
    Highlight Titles
    Highlight Links
    Font Sizing
    Default
    Line Height
    Default
    Letter Spacing
    Default
    Left Aligned
    Center Aligned
    Right Aligned

    Visually Pleasing Experience

    Dark Contrast
    Light Contrast
    Monochrome
    High Contrast
    High Saturation
    Low Saturation
    Adjust Text Colors
    Adjust Title Colors
    Adjust Background Colors

    Easy Orientation

    Mute Sounds
    Hide Images
    Virtual Keyboard
    Reading Guide
    Stop Animations
    Reading Mask
    Highlight Hover
    Highlight Focus
    Big Dark Cursor
    Big Light Cursor
    Navigation Keys

    Asbarez.com Accessibility Statement

    Accessibility Statement

    • www.asbarez.com
    • August 5, 2022

    Compliance status

    We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.

    To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.

    This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.

    Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.

    If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email

    Screen-reader and keyboard navigation

    Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:

    1. Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.

      These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.

    2. Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.

      Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Disability profiles supported in our website

    • Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
    • Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
    • Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
    • ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
    • Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
    • Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments

    1. Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
    2. Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over 7 different coloring options.
    3. Animations – epileptic users can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
    4. Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
    5. Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
    6. Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
    7. Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.

    Browser and assistive technology compatibility

    We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.

    Notes, comments, and feedback

    Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to