On April 24, 2021, representatives of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, including Lord Ara Darzi, Aurora Prize Selection Committee Chair, will participate in a flower-laying ceremony at the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex in Yerevan, Armenia to pay tribute to those who perished during the Armenian Genocide in 1915-1923 and to express their gratitude to those who helped the persecuted to survive.
Later that day, the names of the 2021 Aurora Humanitarians will be announced during a special event at the Matenadaran, the national repository of ancient manuscripts. The nomination process for the 2021 Aurora Prize lasted from April 24, 2020, till October 31, 2020, yielding hundreds of submissions featuring 585 unique candidates. In accordance with the tradition, the names of the 2021 Aurora Humanitarians will be inscribed in Chronicles of Aurora, a unique 21st century manuscript containing the depictions of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative activities.
On April 25, 2021, the Aurora Dialogues event titled “Partnership for Artsakh” will take place at UWC Dilijan. It will bring together the Initiative’s partners from the Aurora for Artsakh program, representatives of local and diaspora organizations, NGOs and charity foundations, Artsakh officials, and the media.
The event will feature several workshops focused on healthcare, education and culture, economic development, and social issues. The sessions will be moderated by Ara Babloyan, Scientific Director and Chairman of the Management Board of the Arabkir Joint Medical Center-Institute of Child and Adolescent Health; Narine Aghabalyan, Head of Aurora for Artsakh program and Former Minister of Education, Science and Sports of the Republic of Artsakh; Vahe Keushguerian, Advisor to the President of Artsakh for Development Programs and Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Impact Hub Yerevan, and Mira Antonyan, Chair of the Armenian Association of Social Workers and Executive Director of the Children Support Center-Foundation, Fund for Armenian Relief.
The participants will have an opportunity to contribute to insightful discussions in order to address the humanitarian crisis caused by the 2020 Artsakh war, to analyze the primary needs of the affected people, to exchange the best practices of acting in an emergency and to join forces for an efficient partnership. Since the launch of Aurora for Artsakh, the Initiative has already allocated almost $1.7 million to support 75 projects implemented by local and international partners and intends to expand the program.
Cover photo: Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex, April 24, 2019
