Armenians Going to New York For Shoah Gala Honoring George Clooney

by laetval Fri 06 Sep 2013, 19:34

link

LOS ANGELES—The USC Shoah Foundation, whose digital archives soon will include the filmed testimonies of 400 Armenian Genocide eyewitnesses and survivors, will honor actor George Clooney at a gala dinner on October 3, in New York City – and significant Armenian attendance at the event is expected. The gala, chaired by Shoah founder Steven Spielberg, also will feature special guest Sandra Bullock and a musical performance by Norah Jones.

Armenian Film Foundation Chairman Jerry Papazian said, “We are thrilled to be participating in this event, paving the way for the inclusion of these Armenian Genocide eyewitness testimonies into the Visual History Archive of the USC Shoah Foundation. We are encouraging a large Armenian presence at the event in support of the project.” Papazian confirmed that former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia John Marshall Evans will attend the banquet as part of the Armenian contingent.

Jon Stewart will emcee the gala honoring Clooney for his humanitarian work. The gala committee includes a broad spectrum of celebrities and influential people, including Matt Damon, Ralph Lauren, Jerry Seinfeld, William P. Lauder and Andrew Tisch. All of them are committed to helping raise money for the USC Shoah Foundation, whose mission is to overcome prejudice, intolerance, and bigotry – and the suffering they cause – through the educational use of the Foundation’s visual history testimonies.

Shoah is actively engaged in an international fund-raising campaign to ensure completion of the integration of the Armenian testimonies so that they can be presented to the world in time for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, in April 2015. “It’s crucial that we take the vital and precious words of those who went through the Armenian Genocide and make their testimonies available for students, educators and scholars so that they can learn directly from these eyewitnesses of history,” said Stephen Smith, executive director of the USC Shoah Foundation.

In April 2010, the Armenian Film Foundation and founder J. Michael Hagopian, along with his wife, Antoinette, entered into an agreement with the USC Shoah Foundation to license the 400 Armenian Genocide testimonies filmed by Hagopian to Shoah’s Visual History Archive. Next month, Shoah will receive the digitized interviews from The Armenian Film Foundation. Upon delivery, these eyewitness accounts will be incorporated into the USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive.

Shoah’s Visual History Archive is the largest digital collection of its kind in the world, with 105,000 hours of video testimony. The collection is available at 44 institutions around the world, and approximately one million students, researchers, teachers and lay people view the testimonies every year. In addition, thousands of high school students across the country can view the testimonies through IWitness, the Shoah Foundation Institute’s educational website that makes 1,300 full life histories and testimonies of survivors of genocides from the Visual History Archive available to secondary students so they can create multimedia projects and complete interactive activities.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

by Joanna Fri 06 Sep 2013, 19:40

Congratulations to George for this Honour. flower

by it's me Fri 06 Sep 2013, 19:41

Great

Bravo!

(So he will be there...)

by Nicky80 Fri 06 Sep 2013, 19:54

that's a great Honor for him. He must be very happy.

So now I understand the stopover in NY

by silly girl Fri 06 Sep 2013, 20:28

that is very nice..I love Jon Stewart...maybe he will also be on the Daily Show that week.....

by chiki Fri 06 Sep 2013, 21:25

wow, great! Congrats to George!!!

by Mazy Fri 06 Sep 2013, 22:01

Thank you so much Laetval for this great find.
Congratulations George on this wonderful recognition of all that you do to help others. God Bless. Thanks again

by Carla97 Fri 06 Sep 2013, 22:07

Great and congratulations sunny

by Mazy Fri 06 Sep 2013, 22:10

Don't forget this award that George has to pick up on Nov. 10

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

He's the best.

by Nicky80 Fri 06 Sep 2013, 23:18

The awards are rolling in Very Happy

Nice Nice

by it's me Fri 06 Sep 2013, 23:50

Guess he is really honored Very Happy

by What Would He Say Fri 06 Sep 2013, 23:54

Oh so lovely.... Give Flowers

by theminis Fri 06 Sep 2013, 23:57

Congratulations, its good to see him getting all sorts of recognitions

by Katiedot Sat 07 Sep 2013, 04:41

Can anyone explain the link between George and Armenia? Or is he being honoured because he's an all round good egg? (which is reason enough for me, I'm not harping, just wondering).

by Mazy Sat 07 Sep 2013, 07:10

Katiedot wrote:Can anyone explain the link between George and Armenia? Or is he being honoured because he's an all round good egg? (which is reason enough for me, I'm not harping, just wondering).

Hi Katie I believe it has a lot to do with his fight to stop Genocide in Darfur. It is the 100th anniversary of their Genocide, which shame on me didn't know about. I'm sure Steven Spielberg might have put his name up for a vote. .

by Katiedot Sat 07 Sep 2013, 07:42

But Darfur isn't anywhere near Armenia scratch

by Rachel Sat 07 Sep 2013, 07:49

The "Armenian Genocide" was the first Genocide in our last century and a very, very cruel one. Well all Genocides are cruel.
Hitler said - nobody bothered when the Turks did that and it got forgotten very fast - so what they were able to do would be no problem for him to do even better with the Jews.
I believe our sweet and wonderful George will be honored because he is a great active philanthropist and fighter against Genocide and for all Human Rights.
@Mazy, there is a lot about the Armenian Genocide on youtube

Turkey up to today refuses to apologize for the Genocide and doesn't accept to be blamed for it.

2 years ago a Turkish journalist raised his voice and got shot.
There are very violent Turkish Groups chasing and by times even killing people who dare say anything against the turkish ideology - Our George needs to be careful - hope Gio will take good care.

by Rachel Sat 07 Sep 2013, 07:56

Some years ago, I don't remember exactly when - President Obama made a statement that the "Armenian Genocide" needs to be seen as what it is. But he never pushed Turkey to be blamed for it. Think because of political affairs. Turkey is a very important border to the Middle East for America.

by Rachel Sat 07 Sep 2013, 08:15

Katiedot wrote:But Darfur isn't anywhere near Armenia

Katie ??? Genocide does not need to be near Darfur to get George involved. It just happened in 1991 in Kroatia in Europe - George mentioned all Genocides when starting to speak out

by Katiedot Sat 07 Sep 2013, 08:44

Yes, I'm aware of that. That's why I wrote that I'm assuming that he's invited because he's an all round humanitarian person. It was Mazy who seemed to be confusing the Darfur and Armenian genocides.

by Mazy Sat 07 Sep 2013, 09:47

Katiedot wrote:Yes, I'm aware of that. That's why I wrote that I'm assuming that he's invited because he's an all round humanitarian person. It was Mazy who seemed to be confusing the Darfur and Armenian genocides.

I wasn't confusing them, they are 100 years or so apart, I said that I didn't know much about the Armenian one. What I was trying to get across is that they are honoring George because he stands up against Genocide of any kind and actively works to help end it in Darfur. He recently said when speaking about Genocide in Darfur he includes all the surrounding area that are also fighting it. Not too many people are strong enough to openly condemn Genocide, that's why I worry when anyone thinks that he might be in the region. .

There is a Jewish museum in the US that has officially declared the Genocide in Darfur as a Holocaust. I think I have it saved I will post it on the Causes... thread.

@Rachel Thanks so much for the information. I will search for it as I don't watch too many videos takes too much of my internet. That's why I am up all night it's the only time I can download things. Thanks again. And yes I always feel better when Gio is with him. The others don't seem as good, poor Gio.

by What Would He Say Sat 07 Sep 2013, 10:04

Thanks Mazy & Rachel......I was also wondering the connection....x

by Vi Sat 07 Sep 2013, 10:47

Congrats !

and they've chosen a great pic

by Katiedot Sat 07 Sep 2013, 10:51

Sorry Mazy, then I misread your post. When you said it happened 100 years ago I thought you were still talking about Darfur which is why I couldn't figure out the connection between the two.

by mosaic Sat 07 Sep 2013, 12:32

Rachel van Bersten wrote:The "Armenian Genocide" was the first Genocide in our last century and a very, very cruel one. Well all Genocides are cruel.
Hitler said - nobody bothered when the Turks did that and it got forgotten very fast - so what they were able to do would be no problem for him to do even better with the Jews.
I believe our sweet and wonderful George will be honored because he is a great active philanthropist and fighter against Genocide and for all Human Rights.
@Mazy, there is a lot about the Armenian Genocide on youtube

Turkey up to today refuses to apologize for the Genocide and doesn't accept to be blamed for it.

2 years ago a Turkish journalist raised his voice and got shot.
There are very violent Turkish Groups chasing and by times even killing people who dare say anything against the turkish ideology - Our George needs to be careful - hope Gio will take good care.

I've been doing a little research on it. (I had heard of it, but not in-depth.) It's unreal that they would deny something so huge--one to one and a half million people killed!

I found this story on a genocide denier being given a nice position with the State Dept.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by it's me Sat 07 Sep 2013, 15:36

Sorry to know
But also sorry to say G is too 'big'

Bad thing to say
But it's real

He needs now to be really diplomatic in his speech

by Maggy Sat 07 Sep 2013, 16:33

Vi wrote:Congrats !

and they've chosen a great pic

Yes, they did. I love it!

Thank you Rachel for that info.

by Maggy Sat 07 Sep 2013, 16:34

Congratulations Mr. Clooney!

I love you

by Anna Tower Sat 07 Sep 2013, 16:43

Genocide is an unnecessary evil whether it's from Turks, German Nazis, Sudanese Bashir supporters, Serbs, etc.
Maybe the Armenian foundation is honouring George Clooney because of his activism against genocide in one of the worst case scenarios in current affairs.
The brutality the Turks showed against the Armenians (forcing them to perish in the Syrian dessert, execution, rape, etc) was done to other minority groups under Ottoman rule at the time too. Entire villages annihilated. Acts of brutal terror. But though George Clooney is a public figure celebrity actor & humanitarian, he would really need to show non-ethnic bias, sort of non-partisanship & remain very generic, in such a situation.

by LornaDoone Sat 07 Sep 2013, 16:52

Katiedot wrote:Can anyone explain the link between George and Armenia? Or is he being honoured because he's an all round good egg? (which is reason enough for me, I'm not harping, just wondering).

I think it's his work regarding Dartur and as always, a way to use his world wide recognition factor (and thereby media coverage) to bring attention to an event that probably would have gone unnoticed had he not been the honoree.

by Nicky80 Sat 07 Sep 2013, 17:40

agree Lorna. Good point. George gets a lot of media attention which is good for the event. George is helping the event and the Event is helping george with the award.

by Rachel Sat 07 Sep 2013, 18:26

George gets a world wide media attention - and he uses it a lot for spreading humanity and human rights. I'm just sometimes a little worried. He needs to be careful because he doesn't take a sheet in front of his mouth - there are a lot of crazy folks out there...

by it's me Sat 07 Sep 2013, 19:55

Please stop scaring me

by Mazy Sat 07 Sep 2013, 21:34

Rachel van Bersten wrote:George gets a world wide media attention - and he uses it a lot for spreading humanity and human rights. I'm just sometimes a little worried. He needs to be careful because he doesn't take a sheet in front of his mouth - there are a lot of crazy folks out there...

Yes I agree, George knows he's going to get the press anyway so he uses it for good. But these are also my biggest fears I feel better when we know where he is God Bless him. Okay something finally clicked in my brain. Posting a separate thread so it can be moved.

by O.o Sat 07 Sep 2013, 21:37

Aren't the Kardashians Armenian descendants too??
Maybe they will attend. If George does go, they might all hang out & stuff. You know, like chill.

I think Cher & Andre Agassi the tennis dude too.

by Maggy Sat 07 Sep 2013, 21:42

O_o wrote:Aren't the Kardashians Armenian descendants too??
Maybe they will attend. If George does go, they might all hang out & stuff. You know, like chill.

I think Cher & Andre Agassi the tennis dude too.

by O.o Sat 07 Sep 2013, 21:47

Ok, ok, I was kidding. He would prob just be polite & charming to everyone. He's mastered the art of charming interpersonal skills.

by Mazy Sat 07 Sep 2013, 21:56

Katiedot wrote:Sorry Mazy, then I misread your post. When you said it happened 100 years ago I thought you were still talking about Darfur which is why I couldn't figure out the connection between the two.

No problem Katie sometimes I think I'm explaining things correctly but it doesn't always come off that way. I posted a new thread on the subject in case you want to move it. You were right there are other correlations between George and the Armenian Genocide it just takes awhile for my brain to work.

by O.o Sat 07 Sep 2013, 22:01

The matter of genocide alone is the correlation.
. As applied to other ethnic minorities past & present.

by Mazy Fri 13 Sep 2013, 03:56

One of my twitter buddies, she is into George and Darfur, not sure but she may be from Africa. She sent me a DM with a link about the Armenian Genocide she also posts anti genocide. There was a video at the link which I was going to post until I saw it. I'm going to put the link but know that it made me very sick to my stomach as it is so horrific and graphic.
WARNING - HORRIFIC & NAUSEATING GORY
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by ... Fri 13 Sep 2013, 13:31

It was shocking, Mazy.
Armenian ethnic groups have been actively involved to remember the lives lost & they constantly seek formal admittance that these atrocities occurred.
Just like the Holocaust.

There was another shocking case of genocide in the 1930s by Stalin's Soviet Union against the Ukraine region.
The Ukraine Holodomor. It was a brutal, deliberate act of imposed Famine-Genocide during Stalin's collectivisation of crops in rural regions & the industrialisation transition.

An estimated 7.5 million people died of starvation between 1932-33.

Cannibalism was so common that Russian soldiers placed warning signs in streets that it is a crime to eat corpses.

The Soviet government concealed this act of genocide, and records began to be released in more recent history.

by Rachel Fri 13 Sep 2013, 15:06

...not to forget - this Genocide

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

There have always been Genocides - who is interested can read here

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

and about Raphael Lemkin...
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by ... Fri 13 Sep 2013, 16:01

Very interesting links, Rachel.
So much barbarianism. I hope education & guidance makes the world a better place for future generations.

I mentioned the Holomodor only out of sheer numbers, comparative to the Holocaust.
I cannot believe human brutality. Their own species. Extended to animal extinction & destruction of nature.

Anyway, it is great that Spielberg & other prominent figures attend this function in honor of GC & his anti-genocide activism.

by isogotit Sat 14 Sep 2013, 02:37

Awesome Mr. Clooney

by Mazy Sat 14 Sep 2013, 04:04

Does anyone know if there is one central site that give a summery of all the Genocides in our last few hundred years? I think that if people knew more about these maybe it would help to stop ones of today. Also would hopefully be some kind of deterrent to the possibility of future ones.

The world needs to watch for these signs which George has long stated and stop NOW.

If the UN hasn't got the guts to do something create an organization that does. We know that the ICC doesn't follow through.

The more educated we humans have the more we would be able to demand something be done. I know all this sounds far fetched, however most of you know it is because of my love for George I started learning about Darfur and believe me that has grown into many other areas.

If that can happen with me one person think about how the education of these atrocities would enlighten so many others. Because it's now the people that keep me going as I'm amazed how they get up each day , not knowing if it's their day to die or not.

God Bless

by Rachel Sat 14 Sep 2013, 07:05

Mazy wrote:Does anyone know if there is one central site that give a summery of all the Genocides in our last few hundred years? I think that if people knew more about these maybe it would help to stop ones of today. Also would hopefully be some kind of deterrent to the possibility of future ones.

The world needs to watch for these signs which George has long stated and stop NOW.

If the UN hasn't got the guts to do something create an organization that does. We know that the ICC doesn't follow through.

The more educated we humans have the more we would be able to demand something be done. I know all this sounds far fetched, however most of you know it is because of my love for George I started learning about Darfur and believe me that has grown into many other areas.

If that can happen with me one person think about how the education of these atrocities would enlighten so many others. Because it's now the people that keep me going as I'm amazed how they get up each day , not knowing if it's their day to die or not.

God Bless

Mazy, there are a lot of sites in the Internet to get informed about it if you are interested! Sad fact is most people are only interested in what is happening close to them - not because they are not interested - it's because they feel like being raped by all what's going on in the world. I'm a lot in politics and know how it works. We the population can raise our voice and make aware of things happening but it takes a lot even for a celebrity like George to get politicians to act because its all a matter of power and money! What happened in Rwanda - America knew about it, Europe knew about it but they just let it go on because - no resources in that region and political not interesting.
If you are interested a good book is " Blood and Soil " by Ben Kiernan ; " African Dirge " by Peter Scholl-Latour
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Hope I could help you a little bit

by Mazy Sat 14 Sep 2013, 09:51

Yes Rachel thank you so much I will check these out, thanks again for the information very kind of you. I am struggling a bit with this, a little information is worse than none. So I need to find out more but I don't think I will ever be able to make sense of it.

by What Would He Say Mon 30 Sep 2013, 00:42

Oh this is happening THIS WEEK !!!!! I feel pic's in the air...

by party animal - not! Mon 30 Sep 2013, 00:49

Mm, Thursday. Wonder if he's jetting across the pond after that for the Gravity premiere at BFF film festival - October 4th!

He did say LA, then NYC, then London at some point, so maybe music soundtrack for Monuments Men in London then too. Abbey Road?

by Maggy Mon 30 Sep 2013, 16:47

what would he say wrote:

Oh this is happening THIS WEEK !!!!! I feel pic's in the air...

Yay, pictures cheers

by Sponsored content