The periodic visits of Armenian students to the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex and their discussions with their teachers have, in recent years, compelled the specialists of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute and those responsible for the education sector to reach the conclusion that there is indeed a question regarding the teaching of the Armenian Genocide as a subject.
According to Armenpress, proceeding from this, the solemn opening of a three-day conference titled “The Challenges of Teaching the Armenian Genocide in the 21st Century” took place at the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.
“We understood that there is a problem for teachers, there is a problem for us, there is a problem from the perspective of methodology, and this conference is called upon to address these questions. In the Armenian reality, this is perhaps the first such conference,” said the director of the Museum-Institute, Harutyun Marutyan, in his opening remarks.
He noted that through discussions with distinguished scholars arriving from abroad, they wish to gain an understanding of how this extremely complex theme concerning crimes against humanity — genocides — is taught in foreign countries, in Armenian and non-Armenian environments, taking into account the fact that the foreign specialists mainly represent those nations which have also been subjected to genocide at various times.
Thus, according to the organisers, one of the main tasks is to determine what to do in order to avoid the formation of the stereotype of the victim — the “genocided” — in the psychology and consciousness of children, or the dangers thereof.
The conference is organised with the support of Armenia’s Ministry of Science, Culture and Physical Education and Armenia’s Science Committee.
Welcoming the participants of the conference, Deputy Minister Zhanna Andreasyan stressed that the conference devoted to the challenges of teaching the theme of the Genocide in general education institutions is more than timely today. “We hope that this discussion will not be belated; moreover, it will be a discussion that allows us to envision more clearly the best strategies for teaching the subject under the challenge facing us today,” the Deputy Minister noted.
Around thirty specialists in genocide and related fields are participating in the conference, from Armenia, the United States, Russia, Lebanon, Israel, Rwanda, Spain, the Republic of South Africa and Cambodia.
