Editor’s Note: This piece was written by longtime Arlington resident Michael Armanious and his co-author Jared Padgett and submitted for publication. It is part of a research project exploring Arlington as a learning town, which is, Armanious says, “where lifelong learning happens everywhere.”
By Michael Armanious and Jared Padgett
How does Arlington connect us—both to each other and to the world beyond? In Arlington, learning rarely fits the traditional mold. Creativity emerges in the everyday ways local institutions, nonprofits, schools, and neighbors join forces to support one another.
This culture is making Arlington a place where people learn by doing, share wisdom across cultures, and transform challenges into opportunities to connect.
A global library in Arlington
The Armenian Cultural Foundation (ACF) on Mystic Street is a hidden gem, filled with rare books, manuscripts, and materials from the Armenian diaspora. Welcoming scholars, students, and curious visitors from around the globe, it celebrates and shares arts, history, and cultural knowledge.
ACF connects Arlington to a worldwide cultural network. On Oct. 25, Italian pianist Alessandra Pompili will perform “Voices Across Time: Armenian Piano Music”—an event that honors Robert Mirak and celebrates global composers like Alan Hovhaness, who grew up here. Pompili, an acclaimed Vatican Radio pianist and advocate for Hovhaness’s music, brings international artistry to Arlington. This performance turns a local stage into a global gathering place.
From culture to community care
That spirit of connection runs through Arlington’s service organizations. Food insecurity and family needs don’t stop at town lines, and neither does Arlington’s willingness to lend a hand, often partnering with neighbors across the region.
Arlington EATS is more than a local safety net—it’s a connector to global causes.
By partnering with organizations like End Hunger New England, Beantown Baby Diaper Bank, and Dignity Matters, EATS extends its reach beyond Arlington, addressing hunger and basic needs across communities. These collaborations mean that when EATS acts locally, it builds relationships and delivers support that ripple far beyond town lines.
These partnerships reveal another side of a learning community: neighbors discover needs that might otherwise stay hidden, and step up to solve them together.
Learning through food
Food Link is one of Arlington’s “learning laboratories.” Hundreds of volunteers collect, sort, and distribute rescued food every week. Along the way, they gain real-world skills such as logistics, teamwork, communication, and leadership while fighting hunger and food waste.
Food Link connects with Arlington EATS. Volunteers deliver produce from the Farmers’ Market to Arlington EATS for weighing and distribution. Arlington EATS and Tufts University’s Food is Medicine Institute partner on Cook & Thrive, linking food access with nutrition education and wellness.
NEAT (Neighbors Eating All Together) adds another layer. Its free community dinners pair food with hospitality and conversation. Together, Food Link, Arlington EATS, and NEAT turn food insecurity from an abstract statistic into a shared challenge. Meeting this challenge calls for logistics, dignity, nutrition, and connection.
ACMi as a learning destination
Arlington Community Media, or ACMi, brings hands-on learning into media. ACMi partners with colleges across New England, offering internships where students dive into research, writing, and video production. Interns master everything from camera work to reporting, telling Arlington’s stories alongside local organizations.
ACMi is a real-world classroom: students gain professional skills by capturing and sharing Arlington life.
Preparing for the technology age
Arlington is exploring a partnership with the Tech Diplomacy Academy, an initiative of Purdue University’s Krach Institute. The aim is to equip citizens, educators, and officials with the skills they’ll need in a rapidly changing technological world.
Free, self-paced courses on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity aim to make tech skills accessible to all.
A culture that travels
The number of organizations doesn’t set Arlington apart. What sets it apart is how different worlds come together, sparking new ideas and friendships.
At Food Link, people from all walks of life team up to rescue food and feed neighbors. The Armenian Cultural Foundation connects Arlington with global traditions, researchers, and musicians. At ACMi, students learn by producing media in their community. At Arlington EATS, Tufts experts and community members join forces to meet local needs.
This creates a place where people of different cultures, professions, and generations find common ground and turn it into action.
A possible UNESCO model
UNESCO’s Global Network of Learning Cities describes a learning city as one that mobilizes resources across sectors, connects education and cultural institutions, supports workplace and community learning, uses technology, and fosters lifelong learning. UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network similarly emphasizes creativity, cultural industries, collaboration, and experimentation.
Arlington hasn’t officially earned the title of UNESCO Learning town or creative town yet. Even so, these connections show what learning and creativity look like in action.
Arlington’s greatest asset isn’t limited to any one institution or program. It’s the culture of connection: a willingness to learn from one another, create together, and turn shared knowledge into community action, again and again.
This piece was published on Oct. 15, 2026. Michael Armanious is a 34-year resident of Arlington. He has been active in the town’s civic life and served as a volunteer for several local organizations, including ACMi, Food Link, Arlington EATS, and NEAT. He has also worked closely with the Arlington Housing Authority, Arlington Police, and Arlington Fire, evaluating and documenting lifelong learning within their daily activities. Jared Padgett, DBA, is an independent researcher, consultant, and entrepreneur whose research explores organizational learning, high-reliability organizations, and systems thinking. Based in Ventura, CA, he collaborates with Armanious to explore and develop learning organizations.
