Institute Debuts Directory of Armenian Genocide Commemorations

USC Dornsife’s Institute of Armenian Studies (IAS) has launched a global directory of events, Year100.org, to boost awareness of the variety of publications, conferences and other events marking the centennial of the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

“Year100.org does more that just shed light on the past and its place in memory and scholarship today; it is, in its broadest sense, a centralized indicator of directions that scholarship and community can take,” said Salpi Ghazarian, IAS director.

“It is heartening to see how scholars, artists, writers and activists throughout the world are commemorating the centenary of the Armenian Genocide in myriad new and significant ways. The directory includes not just the work of Armenians, or scholars, but of people of conscience everywhere. We believe it is our responsibility to share information about events, activities, books and websites, in order to maximize the flow of information and the conversation around the content,” Ghazarian said.

The site is in English, Armenian and Turkish. The purpose is to reach a broad range of scholars, students and others wanting more information about the genocide itself, or trying to understand its causes and consequences and the ways in which it is remembered, studied and discussed.

The content on Year100.org is significantly enhanced by the presentation of evocative images by photographers Hrair Hawk Khatcherian of Canada, Stepan Norair Chahinian of Brazil and Matthew Karanian of the U.S. New publications and exhibitions by each of these photographers constitute a part of Year100.org activities. Their photographs are the most direct representation of the loss of land and way of life that are being memorialized through the events listed on the site.

“This directory demonstrates that this nation and people have moved past survival to revival and growth and creation,” Ghazarian said.

Year100.org intends to be comprehensive, not selective. The availability and accuracy of information depends on organizers from around the world sharing their programs and plans. Submissions are encouraged and welcomed at year100.org/add-your-own-event/.

“One of the positive outcomes of this commemorative year is the readiness of many in the international scholarly and artistic community to share in the memorializing. The variety of types of events — readings, concerts, books, conferences, exhibitions, lectures — and the variety of locations from South America to Southeast Asia — will also spur further sharing by communities, institutions and organizations thus broadening the reach and impact of each activity, and supporting deeper inquiry into the subject,” Ghazarian said.

Year100.org is a project of IAS, which supports multidisciplinary scholarship to redefine, explore and study the complex issues that make up the contemporary Armenian experience — from post-Genocide to the developing Republic of Armenia to the evolving diaspora.