The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) will hold its twelfth meeting in Yerevan on 8-12 July 2015, hosted by the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute. Director of the AGMI Hayk Demoyan will serve as Local Conference Chair.
The conference theme is “Comparative Analysis of 20th Century Genocides”.
2015 is an important year for all Armenians worldwide in terms of commemoration of the centennial of the beginning of the Armenian genocide. The Armenian genocide is sometimes considered as the first genocide of the 20th century and in many ways served as a template for subsequent genocidal crimes. 2015 is also is the year of 70th anniversary of the end of WWII and the Holocaust. Therefore, it is a significant time to analyze both crimes and all genocides of the 20th century in global and comparative perspectives.
On April 24th 2015 the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute will be opened after two years of renovation and new exhibition development. This is the first major re-opening since its inauguration in 1995. The renovated museum’s mission and exhibits will feature all genocides that occurred after the Armenian genocide. New exhibits will enable all visitors to understand the deep roots, causes, and dynamics of development and consequences of the genocide, while also offering a platform for dialogue.
The urgent need for early warning systems to prevent genocide, and efforts to revisit the basic concepts of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, are matters of pressing concern. Related questions also arise:
- How were ideologies and religion instrumentalized for mass destruction during the 20th century?
- What kind of interaction exists between genocidal intent and genocidal processes?
- Who are the victims, perpetrators, bystanders and witnesses and how do we classify the relevant actors in different cases?
- How might the comparative study of 20th century genocide help to prevent 21st century genocides and mass atrocities?
- How might the legal consequences of the pre-1948 UN Convention “crimes against humanity” be settled?
The conference will begin with a visit to the newly developed exhibition of Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute. During the conference participants will be able to devote one day to an optional excursion to Gyumri, the city where the world largest orphanages were established by American Near East relief after the Armenian genocide and to visit Memorial to Musa Dagh Resistance in nearby Yerevan.
Attendance at the conference is open to all interested professionals and students, but presentation at the conference requires one to be a member of IAGS.
For information on membership, please see http://www.genocidescholars.org/membership.
Website: http://www.genocidescholars.org/Yerevan2015/