Engage Armenia Forum Canada 2026: Armenia Comes to Toronto and Montreal in October
Fifteen organizations from Armenia are coming to Canada in October, each with a few minutes to tell a room full of Armenian Canadians what they need and what they can offer. That is the format of the Engage Armenia Forum, and after seven countries in two years this is its first Canadian edition.
Three sessions are booked: Toronto on Thursday, October 22, 2026, and Montreal on Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25. Registration for each one is on Eventbrite, and the details are below.
If you have ever thought about volunteering in Armenia, hiring there, investing there, teaching there, or moving there, this is the version of that conversation where you can ask questions of the actual people running the programmes instead of filling in a form and hoping.
What the Engage Armenia Forum actually is
Engage Armenia is not a charity you donate to. It is a travelling forum, run by the Repat Armenia Foundation together with the H. Hovnanian Family Foundation, whose stated purpose is bringing Armenia's opportunities to the diaspora and helping people find, in the organizers' words, practical ways to engage with the homeland from where they live or from Armenia.
The series started in 2013 under the name Imagine Armenia, which held more than twenty forums including two in Canada, and was relaunched as Engage Armenia in 2024. Since the relaunch it has run in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Germany. The organizers count three forums, fourteen cities, more than 1,200 attendees and over fifty organizations involved so far. The Germany tour in November 2025 drew more than 410 people across Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg and Berlin, and the 2024 European tour drew more than 700 across eight cities.
The audience the organizers describe is not a student crowd. In Germany, they said, most attendees were professionals between 25 and 45.
The three Canadian dates
Toronto, Thursday October 22
6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Armenian Youth Centre, Hamazkayin Theatre, 50 Hallcrown Place, North York, ON M2J 1P7. Register on Eventbrite.
The published run of the evening: registration and welcome at 6:30, opening remarks at 7:00, a keynote at 7:10 asking why engage with Armenia today, then the organizations presenting one after another from 7:20, a wrap up at 8:50, and a networking reception from 9:00 to 10:00. The reception is the part that matters. Short pitches are useful, but the conversation afterwards is where a volunteer placement or a job or a partnership actually starts.
Montreal, Saturday October 24
1:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Armenian General Benevolent Union of Montreal, 805 Rue Manoogian, Montreal, QC H4N 1Z5. Register on Eventbrite.
Montreal, Sunday October 25
2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Sourp Hagop Armenian School, Pastermajian Hall, 3400 Rue Nadon, Montreal, QC. Register on Eventbrite. The listing gives 2:00 p.m. while Eventbrite's collection page shows 1:30, so arrive early rather than late.
All three are listed together in the Engage Armenia Forum Canada 2026 collection on Eventbrite, and on the Repat Armenia events page. All three sessions are free, and Eventbrite's refund policy for the listings allows changes up to seven days before the event. Register anyway, because the rooms have a capacity and the organizers are counting heads.
Two things to be clear about, because we get asked. There is no Vancouver date on this tour, and no online or livestream option has been announced. If you are outside Toronto and Montreal, the way in is the organizations themselves, and we list their links further down.
Who is coming from Armenia
The forum's draw is that the decision makers turn up in person rather than sending brochures. Named for the Canadian dates:
Vartan Marashlyan, co-founder and executive director of Repat Armenia
Sevan Kabakian, of Birthright Armenia
Arina Zohrabian, of the Armenian Volunteer Corps
Nelly Poliakov, head of communications at the H. Hovnanian Family Foundation, as a forum host
Emma Matossian of the Armenian Youth Federation Canada, Christopher Dedeyan of Dedeyan Enterprises and Ari Mike of E-Legal Counsel on the Canadian side
Presenting organizations include Health For Armenia, the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology, known as FAST, Impact Hub Yerevan, the VIA Fund, Eqwefy, Optimize Consulting, the Information Systems Agency of Armenia, the Armenia Education Initiative, the Hidden Road Initiative and AGBU Armenia. The topics on the agenda are volunteering, mentorship, social impact, business and investment, education, healthcare, culture and repatriation.
Sponsors are listed as the Armenian Missionary Association of America, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, E-Legal Counsel and Dedeyan Enterprises, with the Canada-Armenia Business Council and Torontohye newspaper as supporters.
What you can actually sign up for afterwards
This is the useful part, and it is worth reading before you go so you arrive with questions. The programmes the forum channels people into, with the eligibility rules as published:
Birthright Armenia: ages 21 to 32, at least one fully Armenian grandparent, secondary school completed. Placements run nine weeks to a year and include a host family, Armenian classes and weekend excursions, in exchange for thirty hours of volunteering a week. Travel is reimbursed at 50 per cent from nine weeks and in full from fourteen, subject to the programme's own conditions. A Lite version for working professionals starts at four weeks with no age limit, and those participants cover their own travel, lodging and host family costs.
Armenian Volunteer Corps: for diaspora Armenians this is the 32 and over option, since AVC directs Armenians aged 21 to 31 to Birthright instead. It runs Junior, Student, Professional and Senior streams, with placements from one month to a year, and from two weeks in the Professional and Senior streams, where stays under a month carry a one time donation. Airport pickup, host family housing and language classes are included. AVC reports more than 1,325 volunteers since 2001 and over 1,600 placement partners.
AGBU Armenians Come Together: short humanitarian service trips, including food and hygiene distribution, family registration and children's activities.
Arménie Terre de Vie, run by AGBU: a four week summer programme for thirty volunteers aged 18 to 30, in English, French or Armenian, with volunteers expected to help promote and crowdfund in advance.
Repat Armenia's own internship and volunteering page is the single best link to keep. If your interest is moving rather than visiting, we have written separately about what Repat Armenia does for people relocating to Armenia.
One honest note on numbers. The volunteer figures above belong to Birthright Armenia and the Armenian Volunteer Corps, not to Engage Armenia. The forum publishes attendance and city counts, not placement outcomes.
Why a forum like this lands differently in Canada
Canada's Armenian community runs on institutions that already work: churches, schools, dance ensembles, camps, a newspaper, a business council. What it has less of is a standing bridge to organizations inside Armenia that can absorb a Canadian professional's time. Most people who want to help end up asking a cousin.
A forum where fifteen organizations state plainly what they need, in a room in North York or Saint-Laurent, closes that gap in one evening. It is also, and we say this as people who track the community calendar for a living, unusually well timed. October is when the Armenian Canadian season is fully underway, and both cities have the venues and the audiences to fill them.
If you want to see what else is happening around these dates, our Toronto and Montreal pages and the Armenian events in Canada 2026 guide cover the rest of the autumn. The Montreal community guide is the place to start if you are travelling for the weekend sessions.
Practical notes before you register
Register in advance through the Eventbrite links above. The sessions are free, but the rooms are not unlimited.
Bring questions, not a resume. The organizations are recruiting volunteers, partners and mentors, and a specific question about your field gets much further than a general offer to help.
Stay for the reception. In Toronto that is the last hour, 9:00 to 10:00.
Sign up to the newsletter on engagearmenia.org if you cannot attend, since that is where future dates are announced first.
Questions go to contact@engagearmenia.org.
We could find no Canadian office, chapter or charity registration for Engage Armenia. It is a visiting forum, and the way to keep it coming back is to fill the room.
If you are organizing something in the Armenian Canadian community, submit it to Tomsak and we will list it. And if you want the autumn calendar in your inbox rather than in your head, subscribe here.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Engage Armenia Forum?
It is a travelling forum run by the Repat Armenia Foundation and the H. Hovnanian Family Foundation, in which organizations based in Armenia present opportunities to volunteer, work, invest, teach and repatriate directly to diaspora audiences. Each forum combines a keynote, a series of short presentations by the participating organizations, and a networking reception. Fifteen organizations are taking part in the Canadian edition.
When and where is Engage Armenia Forum Canada 2026?
There are three sessions. Toronto is on Thursday, October 22, 2026, from 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the Hamazkayin Theatre, Armenian Youth Centre, 50 Hallcrown Place, North York. Montreal is on Saturday, October 24 from 1:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Armenian General Benevolent Union of Montreal, 805 Rue Manoogian, Montreal, and on Sunday, October 25 from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Pastermajian Hall, Sourp Hagop Armenian School, 3400 Rue Nadon, Montreal.
How do I register?
Registration for each session is on Eventbrite, and all three are gathered in the Engage Armenia Forum Canada 2026 collection. The sessions are listed as free, and the listings allow changes up to seven days before the event.
Is there an Engage Armenia event in Vancouver, or an online option?
No. The 2026 Canadian tour covers Toronto and Montreal only, and no livestream or virtual attendance has been announced. People elsewhere in Canada can contact the participating organizations directly or subscribe to the Engage Armenia newsletter for future dates.
Who organizes Engage Armenia?
The forum is run by the Repat Armenia Foundation together with the H. Hovnanian Family Foundation. Repat Armenia was founded in Yerevan in 2012 and has operated as the Repat Armenia Branch of Birthright Armenia Inc. since January 2026.
Is Engage Armenia the same as Repat Armenia?
No, but they are closely connected. Engage Armenia is a forum programme run by Repat Armenia with the H. Hovnanian Family Foundation, rather than a separate organization, and we could find no Canadian chapter or charity registration under the Engage Armenia name.
Who is speaking at the Canadian forums?
Named participants include Vartan Marashlyan, co-founder and executive director of Repat Armenia, Sevan Kabakian of Birthright Armenia, Arina Zohrabian of the Armenian Volunteer Corps, Emma Matossian of the Armenian Youth Federation of Canada, Christopher Dedeyan of Dedeyan Enterprises, Ari Mike of E-Legal Counsel, and Nelly Poliakov of the H. Hovnanian Family Foundation as a forum host.
What volunteer programmes can I join through the forum?
The main pathways are Birthright Armenia for ages 21 to 32, the Armenian Volunteer Corps for diaspora Armenians aged 32 and over, AGBU Armenians Come Together for short humanitarian service trips, and Arménie Terre de Vie, a four week summer programme for volunteers aged 18 to 30.
How big have previous Engage Armenia forums been?
The organizers count three forums in fourteen cities with more than 1,200 attendees and over fifty participating organizations. The November 2025 German tour drew more than 410 people across five cities, the 2024 European tour drew more than 700 across eight cities, and the 2024 Dubai forum drew more than 150.
Can I donate to Engage Armenia?
Neither engagearmenia.org nor repatarmenia.org carries a donation page. The work is funded by the H. Hovnanian Family Foundation, and Repat Armenia is now a branch of Birthright Armenia Inc., which does fundraise. Anyone wanting to give should ask the organizers at contact@engagearmenia.org where support is best directed, or support one of the presenting organizations directly.
Is the forum only for young people?
No. The organizers described the German audience as mainly professionals aged 25 to 45, and several of the programmes presented, including the Armenian Volunteer Corps Professional and Senior streams, are designed for people well past their twenties.
I cannot attend. What should I do instead?
Subscribe to the Engage Armenia newsletter at engagearmenia.org for future dates, and use Repat Armenia's internship and volunteering page to approach the individual programmes directly. Tomsak also lists Armenian events across Canada as they are announced.
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