USC’s Year100.org Documents How the World Commemorates the Genocide

LOS ANGELES — The University of Southern California Institute of Armenian Studies has launched a global directory of events — Year100.org — to boost awareness of the variety of publications, conferences and other events and activities, marking the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, and thus augment their impact.

“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, Director of the Institute of Armenian Studies.

“It is heartening to see how scholars, artists, writers, 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,” said Ghazarian.

The site is in three languages: English, Armenian and Turkish. The purpose is to reach a broad range of scholars, students and anyone wanting more information about the Genocide itself, or trying still to understand its causes and consequences, and the ways in which it is remembered, studied and discussed. This is a work-in-progress and will continue to grow as new events are added.

The content on Year100.org is significantly enhanced by the presentation of evocative images by photographers Hrair Hawk Khatcherian (Canada), Stepan Norair Chahinian (Brazil) and Matthew Karanian (US). New publications and exhibitions by each of these photographers constitute a part of Year100 activities. In addition, these pictures 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, as well as survival and revival.

“It’s the 100th year after the genocidal events of 1915. And this directory demonstrates that this nation and people have moved past survival to revival and growth and creation,” concluded Ghazarian.

Year100.org intends to be comprehensive, not selective. The availability of information and its accuracy depends on organizers from around the world ready to share their programs and plans. Submissions are encouraged and welcomed at http://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, organizations thus broadening the reach and impact of each activity, and supporting deeper inquiry into the subject,” concluded Ghazarian.

Year 100.org is a project of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies which supports multidisciplinary scholarship to re-define, 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. The Institute encourages research, publications and public service, and benefits from communication technologies to link together the global academic and Armenian communities.