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YEREVAN, ARMENIA - On May 7, Sara Cohan, Education Director of The Genocide Education Project met with the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute (AGMI) director and staff about the principles of genocide education in the United States. The meeting took place at the museum's subterranean building under the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide memorial complex in Yerevan, Armenia. Cohan detailed the work of The Genocide Education Project in the U.S., which develops secondary school resources and lesson plans on genocide and provides teaching workshops. She also discussed effective approaches to teaching high school students about the Armenian Genocide. Cohan and the museum staff exchanged ideas on ways to integrate more educational opportunities for school children into the museum's tour experience.

The museum staff who participated in the meeting are experts on various aspects of genocide studies, including the psychological and political facets of genocide. They expressed the need to establish genocide education programs in Armenia. Suren Manukyan, the museum's Deputy Director said that genocide education needed to be expanded in Armenia, not just for students to learn the history truth, but because Armenia still faced a real threat of genocide from its neighbors.

Cohan described the meeting as the highlight of her visit to Armenia. She said it was an important first step in what she hopes will develop into a productive relationship between the two organizations. She said it also served to broaden her personal perspective on this subject. "I had tended to think of the Armenian Genocide as part of our past," said Cohan, an Armenian-American. "But visiting the museum was a sobering reminder that Armenians could again be victims of mass violence. After the massacres of Armenians in Azerbaijan in the late 1980's, understanding the Armenian Genocide of 1915 is even more crucial for young people in Armenia. They need to understand the warning signs of genocide, because of the precarious position of Armenia, and they need to be able to identify such signs in other countries."

The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute conducts ongoing research and exhibits. Since its establishment in 1995, the institution has increasingly become an important resource for scholars, the international community, and members of the public seeking to expand their understanding of the Armenian Genocide. For more information on the museum's work, visit www.genocide-museum.am.