Armenian Genocide Museum Institute and Canadian Museum of Human Rights to Sign Official Memorandum of Understanding

TORONTO — On November 7, Dr. Hayk Demoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute (AGMI) in Yerevan, will visit Mr. Stuart Murray, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) in Winnipeg, to sign a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The objective of the MOU is to exchange knowledge and expertise, educational materials, and exhibitions with respect to human rights, share research and advice, cooperate to advance the academic study of human rights and reconciliation, the Armenian Genocide and its effects, and processes seeking justice and reconciliation, and work together to educate people on issues of human rights, in both national and global contexts.

The MOU will be signed in the presence of His Excellency, Mr. Armen Yeganian, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia, officials of the Zoryan Institute, and representatives of the Armenian community.

In March of this year, Zoryan officials accompanied Dr. Clint Curle, the CMHR’s Head of Stakeholder Relations, to Yerevan, to meet with the Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute, the Republic of Armenia’s Minister of Diaspora and other officials, to discuss the significance of the new museum being developed in Winnipeg in relation to the Armenian Genocide. At that time, discussions for formal cooperation between the two museums were held and plans for the formal signing ceremony later in the year made. The International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute) (IIGHRS) has been instrumental in bringing the CMHR and AGMI together to the mutual benefit of both organizations and the Armenian and Canadian people.

While in Canada, Dr. Hayk Demoyan will also be making two public appearances at events hosted by The Zoryan Institute in Montreal and Toronto. Dr. Demoyan will speak about recent research on Aurora Mardiganian, and he will also update the public on the official plans for the commemoration of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

The official signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the CMHR and AGMI is the culmination of the Zoryan Institute’s efforts to bring the two institutions together. This agreement will help both institutions in their efforts to use awareness and dialogue as a way to promote enhanced human rights for the Armenian community, for Canadians, and for all visitors to the two museums.