Affiliation Agreement Signed Between the Zoryan Institute and the American University of Armenia

TORONTO — The Zoryan Institute and the American University of Armenia (AUA) have signed an affiliation agreement. This agreement will provide the partners an opportunity to undertake collaborative and strategic academic projects which will raise awareness about issues the Armenian nation faces, and elevate discourse relating to these issues. These activities will include research, symposiums, conferences, and university courses relating to relevant issues. The institute will congruently establish a physical branch of the Institute in Armenia, as a subsidiary of our North American organization.

In celebrating this development, President of the Zoryan Institute K.M. Greg Sarkissian stated that

“The new affiliation and branch will broaden the scope of our work and our impact through academic projects. This affiliation further becomes a model of successful partnership which could lay the groundwork for affiliations with other institutions and universities across the world.”

President Armen Der Kiureghian of AUA had further positive comments to add, stating:

“We are pleased to sign this agreement with the Zoryan Institute, which has a long history of high-quality scholarly work. The collaboration will further broaden our teaching, research and public service programs on contemporary issues of importance to Armenia and Armenians.”

The agreement will allow AUA students to have unrestricted access to the Zoryan Institute’s research and scholarly work archives. Furthermore, select AUA students will have the opportunity to take part in the annual Genocide and Human Rights University Program in Toronto, Canada, organized by the Zoryan Institute.

“The alliance of the Zoryan Institute and the American University of Armenia is a marriage made in heaven. There are common goals of seeking truth, of preparing students for a lifetime of contributions to the Armenian Studies, and helping all to see that Armenian history is part of global history and has many lessons to teach and many lessons to be learned. All win from this partnership: AUA, the University of California, which is directly involved with AUA, Zoryan, which has been a leader over 36 years of human rights education, and Armenian Studies, which will be strengthened greatly through the association that has been forged. The ZoryanAUA partnership will be open, will follow the highest academic standards, and will serve truth, and through truth, justice. Education and scholarship can’t do everything, especially in a post-factual world, but it is still our best hope,” remarked Dr. Roger Smith, Chairman of the Academic Board of the Zoryan Institute.

The Zoryan Institute will continue to retain the same board members to direct and supervise activities of the institute in all offices. The institute may elect to add one Armenia-based board member. Naturally, Zoryan will continue with the work in Canada and the United States that we have carried out over the past 36 years. In this ever-changing world, Zoryan has recognized the need to expand our horizons, and thus we are pleased to share this momentous development. The staff, board members, faculty and partners of the Zoryan Institute look forward to broadening the Institute’s scope and collaborating on further projects with the American University of Armenia.

The Zoryan Institute of Canada and its subsidiary, the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, is the first non-profit, international centre devoted to the research and documentation of contemporary issues with a focus on Genocide, Diaspora and Homeland. For more information about the Zoryan Institute and its projects, please visit one of our websites: www.zoryaninstitute.org or www.genocidestudies.org.