March 14, 2024: The Zoryan Institute is pleased to announce its return for the second consecutive year to Genocide Awareness Week 2024, hosted at Arizona State University (ASU) from April 15-19, 2024.

The 12th annual Rosenbluth Family Charitable Foundation Genocide Awareness Week is a series of lectures, exhibits and storytelling by distinguished survivors, scholars, politicians, activists, artists, humanitarians and members of law enforcement. This week-long event seeks to address how we, as a global society, confront violent actions and current and ongoing threats of genocide throughout the world, while also looking to the past for guidance and to honour those affected by genocide. It is the largest event in the United States dedicated to genocide education and awareness.

On Thursday, the Institute will be hosting a panel that will delve into a book commissioned by the Institute in 2020 titled Collective and State Violence in Turkey. The book explores the creation of national identity and the treatment of minority groups as “internal enemies” and was the first of its kind to explore a variety of case studies and the actions and impunity of the Turkish state. The panel will feature 3 contributing authors of this book, each representing a different case study and or theme that was presented in the book, and will be moderated by Dr. Barlow Der Mugerdechian.

The Institute will also be hosting a second panel that will bring together a diverse group of scholars to provide a comparative approach on the revitalization and erasure of Indigenous language and culture. Panelists include editors of the Institute’s journal, Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies, who will explore and share perspectives of the Indigenous people of Canada and the United States and the Indigenous peoples of Western Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). This panel will be moderated by Karen Jaratt Snider.

The Zoryan Institute will also be returning its Promoting Equity, Tolerance, Reconciliation, and Awareness Through Genocide Education Program. Led by the Zoryan Institute Academic Board Member, Prof. Alex Alvarez, this program provides students in grades 10-12 with a foundational understanding of the numerous complex and emotional issues of crimes against humanity and genocide through activities, classroom discussions, and films. The Zoryan Institute’s involvement with the 2024 Genocide Awareness Week aims to contribute to the ongoing conversation around genocide awareness and prevention between students, scholars, and the Arizona community. To learn more about Genocide Awareness Week, visit the official website here.