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The Genocide Education Project at National Social Studies Conference

Provides exhibit booth and presentation

WASHINGTON, DC - The Genocide Education Project participated in the annual conference of National Council for Social Studies (NCSS), the biggest national event for social studies educators. Attended by more than four thousand teachers and education professionals from around the country, the December 2-4 conference was held in Washington, DC, and was one of the most highly-attended conferences in the organization's history.

In addition to hosting an exhibit booth where educators could acquire materials and guidance on Armenian Genocide instruction, Sara Cohan, Education Director for GenEd, gave a presentation entitled "Quest for Justice: Martin Luther King and Hrant Dink" at the International Assembly, a subgroup of NCSS. Cohan discussed how the work of both Dink and King illuminated the ongoing struggle for basic rights of the individual--spanning time and place.  Hrant Dink, the outspoken Armenian editor of Agos newspaper in Turkey, was assassinated in 2007 for discussing his Armenian heritage and history, just as Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968 because of his advocacy of civil rights for African-Americans and other minorities in the U.S.

Sevan Kolejian and Suzanne Cohan assisted GenEd at its exhibit booth during the conference. Teachers from Seattle to Miami visited the booth and received materials to support the teaching of the Armenian Genocide in their classrooms. Many teachers shared how they have already successfully implemented GenEd’s lesson plans into their curriculum.

"The conference allows us to share Armenian Genocide materials with educators from around the country and gives us a chance to learn about their current needs," said Raffi Momjian, Executive Director of The Genocide Education Project. "We listen to teachers and then determine new and better ways of providing services to help them incorporate the Armenian Genocide into their history lessons."

The National Council for Social Studies was founded in 1921 and is the largest US association devoted solely to social studies education. It is organized into more than 110 affiliated state, local, and regional councils, and its members represent K-12 classroom teachers, college and university faculty members, curriculum designers and specialists, and leaders in the various social studies disciplines. NCSS defines social studies as "the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence."