USC Shoah Foundation staff share Institute resources on Armenian Genocide with L.A. educators

Two USC Shoah Foundation staff members recently shared the Institute’s work related to the Armenian Genocide with Armenian school educators in the Los Angeles area. 

Education and Outreach Specialist Sedda Antekelian and Program Officer Manuk Avedikyan shared information about the educational use of testimony in the Institute’s Visual History Archive and on the Institute’s educational website, IWitness.  

On Sept. 22, the AGBU Yervant Babayan Institute of Pedagogy for Research and Development hosted “Best & Promising Practices and Resources Conference” for teachers of Armenian language, history, religion and culture. The conference took place at the AGBU Vatche & Tamar Manoukian Center in Pasadena. 

The founder of the AGBU Babayan Institute, Armenian Film Foundation board member, Professor Emeritus Dr. Silva Karayan organized the conference with the goal of revealing innovative resources and best practices among experts and other educators to enhance Armenian-American education within the community’s various schools.  

Both Avedikyan and Antekelian presented in the last panel of the conference, along with Lilit Keshishian from the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, among other notable experts in the Armenian community. Avedikyan demonstrated various ways of searching the Visual History Archive (VHA) to research testimony. Antekelian highlighted testimony-based resources available through the IWitness Armenian Genocide Education program and effective strategies for how to integrate testimony into the classroom. 

On Oct. 6, Antekelian led two introductory workshop sessions at the 18th Annual Professional Development Day Conference for all K-12 Armenian school educators from California at Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School in Encino, CA. Up to 400 educators were provided with the opportunity to access up-to-date research-based teaching methods and strategies for the 21st century learner from multiple experts. 

During both sessions, Antekelian worked with interested educators to support their navigation through the various testimony access points on IWitness site. She presented the most updated resources available to complement Armenian Genocide education in the classroom and highlighted the importance of testimony-based education as a tool for strengthening student empathy and moral responsibility. Educators of both events left with inspiration and motivation to find creative ways to incorporate IWitness and the VHA into their classrooms.