Knights & Daughters of Vartan Announce Essay Contest Winners in Conjunction with Times Square Commemoration 

The USC Shoah Foundation offers a selection of Armenian Genocide survivor testimonials that shed light on the first genocide of the 20th century. These stories are meant to be shared and understood in order to avoid another cycle of hatred, racism and intolerance in the world we live in.

Select a testimonial available from http://sfi.usc.edu/collections/armenian or another primary source that inspires you. Reflect on this piece of history, its meaning to you and how it can impact your thinking in the future. Convey your reflections in the form of an essay, poem, short film or visual art piece. Each student may enter a maximum of one submission in each category:

Writing

An essay or a poem of no more than 500 words

Double-spaced

Font 12 pt.

Accepted file formats: .doc, .docx, .pdf

Visual Art

A digitally created image, digital photograph or photograph of an original art piece.

Accepted file formats: .jpeg, .bmp

Film

Running time no longer than 5 minutes

Accepted file formats: .mp4, .mpeg, .mov

Keep in mind this is not a research paper but your own original words and thoughts. Your essay will be judged on its originality, clarity, historical accuracy and understanding of the essay contest theme. All submissions should include the primary source link and/or name.

Contest:

High School and college students are invited to participate in an essay contest as part of the 105th Anniversary Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide that will be held in New York City’s Times Square (43rd St & Broadway) on Sunday, April 26, 2020 from 2-4 pm. The essay contest is sponsored by Knights & Daughters of Vartan (www.kofv.org) an international Armenian fraternal organization headquartered in the U.S.

Deadline:

Sunday, April 5, 2020

Please email submissions to apri24nyc@gmail.com.

Prize:

The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners chosen by the judges will be awarded $300, $200 and $100 respectively and announced at Times Square and in the media.

About the Armenian Genocide Commemoration in Times Square:

Founded in 1985 by the late Sam Azadian, a former Brooklyn, New York resident, who lost four siblings during the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian Genocide Commemoration at Times Square has honored the 1.5+ million Armenian lives lost during the horrific events of the 1915 Genocide of the Armenians by the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire. This internationally-recognized annual event draws thousands of Armenians and non-Armenian participants to commemorate the solemn occasion. The event features speeches and tributes delivered by prominent political figures and civic leaders, officials of the Knights and Daughters of Vartan, representatives of major Armenian-American organizations, and distinguished scholars and educators as well as high-ranking Armenian and non-Armenian clergy.