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The Genocide Education Project
Establishes Rhode Island Chapter
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RI Chapter Members,
Esther Kalajian (L) and Pauline Getzoyan |
RHODE ISLAND - The Genocide
Education Project proudly announces the establishment of its
Rhode Island chapter. Led by community volunteers Pauline
Getzoyan and Esther Kalajian, the group will focus on bringing
instruction on the Armenian Genocide into Rhode Island high
schools. As early as 2005, Kalajian and Getzoyan began providing
opportunities for educators across the state to learn more about
genocide education and the Armenian Genocide. They have
organized events for educators, including the first state-wide
genocide education symposium, an annual teaching award for those
teachers who successfully incorporate the study of the Armenian
Genocide into their curriculum.
"We are honored and excited about becoming the Rhode Island
chapter of the Genocide Education Project. This affiliation
promises to be a beneficial partnership as genocide education
grows in importance as part of the social studies curricula in
our state," commented Getzoyan.
The goals of the Rhode Island chapter include acquiring funding
to further expand professional development opportunities for
educators, create curriculum materials designed specifically for
Rhode Island, and develop relationships with education
departments at local universities in order to provide training
programs for pre-service teachers.
The chapter's first project was a tremendous success. The
national office with the Rhode Island Chapter co-authored a
proposal that was accepted by the Rhode Island Department of
Education to run a workshop at their annual Summer Civics
Institute, sponsored by the Rhode Island Council for the
Humanities (RIDE). Over two hundred teachers from across the
state attended the Institute on June 29. Sara Cohan (Education
Director for the national office), Getzoyan and Kalajian
conducted a riveting workshop regarding the Armenian Genocide
and the general principles
of genocide education for teachers from seven different school
districts. The Genocide Education Project - Rholde Island
exhibit space at the conference became a busy gathering place
throughout the day for a myriad of educators and educational
organization leaders to exchange information and classroom
materials on the Armenian Genocide. The next project for the
chapter and national office will be to create lesson plans about
the Armenian Genocide based on the experiences of survivors and
their descendents who settled in Rhode Island.
A state that is named for the
Greek isle of Rhodes, whose motto is "hope," founded on the idea
of religious tolerance for all minorities and an amazing team of
Armenian volunteers, makes Rhode Island the perfect location for
this new and exciting phase in the work of The Genocide
Education Project.
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The Genocide Education
Project is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization that
assists educators in teaching about human rights and genocide,
particularly the Armenian Genocide, by developing and
distributing instructional materials, providing access to
teaching resources and organizing educational workshops.
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