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  • Zoryan Institute Of Academic And Corporate Boards Hold Joint Meeting

    ZORYAN INSTITUTE OF CANADA, INC.
    255 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite 310
    Toronto, ON, Canada M3B 3H9
    Tel: 416-250-9807 Fax: 416-512-1736 E-mail: [email protected]
    www.zoryaninstitute.org

    PRESS RELEASE
    CONTACT: GEORGE SHIRINIAN
    DATE: June 30, 2004
    Tel: 416-250-9807

    ZORYAN INSTITUTE OF ACADEMIC AND CORPORATE BOARDS HOLD JOINT MEETING

    TORONTO, CANADA - The members of the Zoryan Institute's Corporate and
    Academic boards just concluded a three-day meeting in Toronto on June 27 to
    review the organization's recent achievements, elect its directors and
    officers for both boards for the coming term, and to discuss the future
    direction of the Institute.

    After welcoming remarks by Dr. Varouj Aivazian, Chair, and a review of the
    organization's structure by Kourken Sarkissian, President, Mig Migirdicyan
    Treasurer, presented the financial statements, which have showed a steady
    increase in revenues over the past five years. The Institute's disbursements
    have totaled over 1.7 million dollars during the past five years.

    George Shirinian, Secretary of the Corporate Board, presented two new
    candidates for appointment to the Academic Board. One, Stephan Astourian, is
    Professor of History at the University of California-Berkeley, where he
    teaches about the Armenian Genocide and Diaspora. The other, Lisa
    Siraganian, is doing a post-doctoral fellowship at Dartmouth College in
    Hanover, New Hampshire. Her specialty is American literature and she has
    also done innovative film analysis of such directors as Rouben Mamoulian and
    Atom Egoyan.

    Chaired by Dr. Levon Chorbajian, the Academic Board's approved the new
    members and confirmed the new board, made up of the following members:
    ˇ Roger Smith, Chairman; Professor Emeritus of Government, College
    of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA.
    ˇ Varouj Aivazian, Deputy Chairman ex officio as Chairman of the
    Corporate Board; Professor of Economics at the University of Toronto.
    ˇ Stephan Astourian, Professor of History, University of
    California-Berkeley.
    ˇ Yair Auron, Senior Lecturer, Open University of Israel; Professor
    of History, Hakibbutzim College of Education, Tel-Aviv.
    ˇ Levon Chorbajian, Professor of Sociology, University of
    Massachusetts, Lowell.
    ˇ Vahakn Dadrian, Director, Genocide Research, Zoryan Institute.
    ˇ Eliz Sanasarian, Professor of Political Science, University of
    Southern California, Los Angeles.
    ˇ Lisa Siraganian, Post-doctoral Fellow in English Literature at
    Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH.
    ˇ Khachig Tölölyan, Professor of English Literature, Wesleyan
    University; Editor, Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies.

    Detailed reports on the Institute's projects were then presented, each
    followed by questions and discussion.

    Vahakn Dadrian reviewed the genocide-related activities of the Institute.
    First, he described the importance of the publication this fall of The
    Armenian Genocide 1915/16: Selected Documents from the Political Archives of
    the German Foreign Office, edited by Wolfgang and Sigrid Gust. Zoryan began
    its involvement in this project in 1999 and it has entailed many years of
    research, translation and editorial work. Next, he discussed another
    long-term project, which is to translate and publish selected articles from
    Turkish newspapers published during the Armistice period just after WWI,
    when there was no censorship in Turkey. These articles provide a wealth of
    otherwise unknown detail from the daily testimony of witnesses called before
    the Turkish Military Tribunal investigating crimes against the Armenians
    perpetrated in Trabzon and Yozgat.

    Khachig Tölölyan gave a status report on Diaspora: A Journal of
    Transnational Studies, now in its twelfth continuous year, which Zoryan
    co-publishes with the University of Toronto Press. The number of submissions
    is now so high that only one article in five gets published.

    A presentation was made of Zoryan's involvement, along with the University
    of Minnesota, in a large project to "Create a Common Body of Knowledge" in
    English and Turkish, whereby the fundamental sources of information related
    to the Armenian Genocide would be freely available to all interested parties
    and could facilitate an informed and rational debate about this provocative
    subject. Traditionally, it has been difficult for those living in Turkey to
    have access to this information in their own language, but gradually this
    need is being addressed.

    Yair Auron discussed the impact of his long-term study of Jewish and Israeli
    attitudes towards the Armenian and other genocides. While university
    students want to know more about these subjects, the Israeli government's
    official policy is to deny that what happened to the Armenians in 1915 was
    genocide, and teaching about the Armenian Genocide in the educational system
    has not been officially approved. Among the projects planned in Israel, he
    proposed that a conference about the Armenian Genocide take place in Israel
    next year.

    Roger Smith provided details on the Genocide and Human Rights University
    Program, which brings together a dozen of the foremost scholars on genocide
    with some two dozen students from around the world to explore several case
    studies-the Jewish Holocaust, the Cambodian Genocide and the Rwandan
    Genocide-with reference to the Armenian Genocide as the archetype of
    genocide in the twentieth century. This year, for the first time, the
    program will take place in both Toronto and Minneapolis in partnership with
    the University of Minnesota, and students attending the program in either
    location have the option of receiving four graduate level semester credits.
    The program's aim is to prepare young scholars to pursue the study of the
    Armenian Genocide and comparative genocide as their life's work.

    Souren Chekijian, who has been involved with the Oral History Project from
    its inception, reported on the digitization of these priceless genocide
    survivor interviews. There are 660 interviews running anywhere from one to
    six hours or more. Approximately 50% of them have been digitized and
    transferred onto DVD, for their preservation and to facilitate access. It is
    hoped that the project will be completed by the end of the year.

    Kourken Sarkissian discussed the establishment of a scholarship fund for
    students pursuing a PhD in Armenian Genocide or comparative genocide
    studies. Criteria are being developed and the scholarship fund will be
    publicized soon. He also described Zoryan's involvement in the Canadian
    Museum of Human Rights, which is being prepared in Winnipeg, with the
    participation of the Armenian Genocide Museum in Washington, DC, represented
    by Dr. Rouben Adalian.

    George Shirinian reported on a research project being conducted in the
    Danish Missionary Archives in Copenhagen. Dr. Eric Markusen and several
    graduate students are preparing a formal report on the materials there,
    which document the work of Danish relief workers providing aid to Armenians
    after the Genocide.

    Zoryan's plans to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
    were discussed at length, and new research proposals were debated and voted
    on.

    During what was perhaps the most important part of the weekend-long meeting,
    a lengthy brainstorming session was devoted to the direction the board
    wished to see the institute take in the coming years. This will be the basis
    for ongoing planning for the next 3 years and beyond.

    The following individuals were also confirmed as the Corporate Board's
    directors and officers for the coming term:
    ˇ Varouj Aivazian, Chairman
    ˇ Levon Chorbajian
    ˇ Arsinée Khanjian
    ˇ Mig Migirdicyan, Treasurer
    ˇ Greg Sarkissian, President of the Canadian Corp.
    ˇ George Shirinian, Secretary
    ˇ Roger Smith, ex officio as Chair of Academic Board
    ˇ Khachig Tölölyan, President of the US Corp.

    The Zoryan Institute is a non-profit, international center devoted to the
    research and documentation of contemporary issues related to the history,
    politics, society, and culture of Armenia and Armenians around the world.

    Please see attached photo of Zoryan board members, staff, and a few of the
    invited guests.
    Top Left: Yair Auron, Amanda Duncombe, Taner Akçam, Greg Sarkissian,
    Sevan Mardirossian, Julie Gilmour, Anny Bakalian, Souren Chekijian, Narini
    Badalian, George Shirinian.
    Bottom Left: Levon Chorbajian, Lisa Siraganian, Vahakn Dadrian, Khachig
    Tölölyan, Roger Smith, Varouj Aivazian.
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