Hello,

In 2023, we set sail with a dream and founded "Haba Yete (What if?)." "Haba Yete" is an independent initiative that combines Western Armenian with creative thinking. Our goal is to create spaces for children all around the world where they can think, produce, and express themselves freely in Western Armenian.

What Have We Done So Far?

On this journey, we quickly crossed borders. We reached all corners of the diaspora to transform Western Armenian into a living, creative space for children.

To date, we have held online gatherings that can be accessed even by children in the most distant corners of the diaspora. At the same time, we have organized on-site workshops in collaboration with Armenian schools, choirs, associations, and communities in cities like Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Los Angeles, Paris, Marseille, and Valence — while also working with educators and adults to explore how the language can be created, lived, and reimagined together with new generations.

Alongside our on-site sessions, we have conducted more than 250 online workshops. We can proudly say that on this journey, over 1500 children have dreamed, created, and had fun with us in their own language. Every “Haba Yete?” we hear fuels our passion.

See the Magic with Your Own Eyes!

Our words can only convey so much, but seeing the spark in the children's eyes is something else entirely. You can watch short videos of what we do in our workshops, and how the children learn, have fun and create in our Youtube Channel. (Please take a look at our channel and share in the children's joy!) You can also find details of our work at www.habayete.com and on our other social media accounts listed below.

Why Do We Need Your Support?

Western Armenian is now an endangered language. A language cannot survive merely in grammar books; it truly lives only when children laugh with it, play with it, create with it, sing songs with it, and ask “Haba yete?” and dream with it.

Currently, we organize workshops for children in schools, camps, and online platforms. Alongside these sessions, we also work closely with teachers. As part of my PhD research, I am developing creative pedagogy labs where educators explore together how Western Armenian can move beyond memorization and become a lived, imaginative experience in the classroom — especially in relation to Armenian cultural transmission.

Rather than imposing fixed methods, we co-develop tools, games, and approaches that teachers can adapt within their own communities, multiplying the impact far beyond a single workshop. Our aim is not to treat culture as a distant, frozen inheritance from the past, but to activate it — allowing new generations to build a living Armenian culture that speaks to their present reality while remaining rooted in their heritage.

However, accessibility is the most important part of our mission. We do not want any child to be deprived of this creative space due to financial hardship. The same applies to our creative labs for teachers, which also require resources and support. Since this project is largely volunteer-based, we cannot sustain and expand it without your support.

The donations we collect will be used in these vital areas:

1- Scholarships and Access: To offer workshops free of charge to children from low-income families, and to keep participation fees symbolic or free for everyone else as our funding allows.

2- Sustainability: To ensure the continuity of our trainers and creative team in this project, which has grown through volunteer effort and passion.

3- Educator Training: To bring Armenian teachers accross diaspora to our camp for an intensive training based on my PhD research on creative, production-based pedagogy in Western Armenian language education. Funding will cover their travel, accommodation, residency costs, and the implementation of the training program, enabling educators to apply and multiply this model in their own classrooms.

4- New Content: To develop digital resources and materials that children will create, not just consume.

The first €10,000 raised will directly support Scholarships and Access, Sustainability, and New Content (Items 1, 2, and 4). Once these essential areas are secured for 2026, all additional funds will be allocated to Educator Training (Item 3). Funders are going to be informed transparently.

How Can You Be a Part of It?

Every donation places a brick in the foundation of a new world — a world where a child builds their dreams by asking “Haba Yete?”.

If you are not able to donate, you can still support us immensely by sharing this campaign and encouraging school administrators, parents, and teachers to get involved in the project.

Your support is invaluable for the future of our language and our dreams.

Warm regards,

Kayane Gavrilof & The Haba Yete Team

Շնորհակալութիւն, Thank You, Obrigada, Gracias!

Web Page: www.habayete.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/habayeteworkshops/

Youtube: www.youtube.com/@habayete

Facebook: 1) Haba Yete; 2) Haba Yete Creative Workshops