Week

8th Genocide Awareness Week G enocide Awareness Week is an annual week featuring lectures, exhibits and storytelling by distinguished survivors, scholars, politicians, activists, artists, humanitarians and members of law enforcement. Tis week-long event seeks to address how we, as a global society, confront violent actions and current and ongoing threats of genocide throughout the world, while also looking to the past for guidance and to honor those afected by genocide. Topics covered include Respect and Tolerance in Our World, Unsettling Empathy: Working with Groups in Confict, Crimes Against Humanity: Te Case of Armenian Genocide, Art and Internment Camps: Culture, Incarceration and Resilience and many more.

Genocide Awareness Week will be held April 20-25 and is hosted by Scottsdale Community College at 9000 E. Chaparral Road in Scottsdale and sponsored in part by local and national organizations. Tis event is free and open to the public.

In addition to the presentations, there are other events being held in conjunction with Genocide Awareness Week. Tese include an opening night reception, special exhibits on display, workshops and a memorial service.

OPENING NIGHT Opening Reception and Program at the Franciscan Renewal Center Father Patrick Desbois April 20 at 5 pm Father Patrick Desbois has devoted his life to researching the Holocaust, fighting anti-Semitism, and furthering relations between Catholics and Jews. Father Desbois is a Catholic priest and President of Yahad – In Unum, a global humanitarian organization he founded in 2004 dedicated to identifying and commemorating the sites of Jewish and Roma mass executions in Eastern Europe during World War II. Father Desbois is also the author of The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest’s Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews, Winner of the National Jewish Book Award, and the recently released The Fabric of Terrorists: Into the Secrets of Daesh, based on his investigation of the Yazidi genocide in Iraq. In Broad Daylight documents mass killings in seven countries formerly part of the Soviet Union that were invaded by Nazi Germany.

SPECIAL EXHIBITS These exhibits are on display before, during, and continuing after, the event: The United States Military in the First Republic of Armenia 1919-1920 April 12-25 Copper Room in the Student Center The Opening Reception will be on the 13th of April in the Turquoise Room tat 6:30pm. Light snacks and a presentation by the curator Dr. Rouben Adalian, Director of the Armenian National Institute based in Washington, DC and curator of “The United States Military in the First Republic of Armenia 1919-1920.”

Holocaust by Bullets through March 13, Burton Barr Library 1221 North Central Ave., Phoenix The 2000-square foot exhibition “Holocaust by Bullets” presents the results of decades of research in Eastern Europe by Father Patrick Desbois and his foundation (Yahad-In Unum). It underscores the “Holocaust by Bullets,” the mass shootings of Jews and others that took place throughout Eastern Europe by the Nazi mobile killing units from 1941 to 1944 and the mechanisms of mass violence generally. It pays homage to the memories of the victims while seeking to promote a proactive movement against genocide. It’s free and open to the public and docent-guided tours available.

WORKSHOPS FBI Workshop: Federal Law and Civil Rights: Excessive Force, Hate, Genocide, and House of Worship Security April 24 at 9 am Hate & Bias Crimes Squad, Phoenix Division FBI presenters will cover four topics: United States Federal Law and International Human Rights, Hate Crimes, Color-of-Law and the Role of Policing and House of Worship Security.

ADL Educator’s Workshop: Echoes and Reflections April 25 at 8 am Presented by Kim Klett, Trainer/English Teacher, Echoes & Reflections, Mesa Public Schools This full-day program is perfect for both teachers who have used Echoes & Reflections in their classrooms and those who are new to it. We will look at two of Echoes & Reflection’s newest programs: Choices Matter: Complicity and Action During the Holocaust and Analyzing Propaganda and Teaching Media Literacy: The Holocaust as a Case Study. Teachers will utilize primary sources, video testimonies, and hands-on lessons and activities that they can take directly back to their classrooms. For more information on all of the events, visit scottsdalecc.edu/genocide.