The world’s newest humanitarian prize presented by U.S. actor and human rights activist George Clooney in Yerevan, Armenia on Sunday, has a Canadian connection.
The Aurora Prize, presented to mark the 101st anniversary of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, was the brainchild of Russian-Armenian entrepreneur and philanthropist Ruben Vardanian, President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York Vartan Gregorian, and Boston-based former Montrealer Noubar Afeyan, said Noubar’s brother, Montreal entrepreneur and community leader, Levon Afeyan.
The humanitarian prize is awarded to an individual who has gone beyond the call of duty, often at great personal risk, to save other people’s lives, said Afeyan speaking on the phone from Yerevan where he and his family attended the Aurora Prize ceremony.
“The idea was so precious so novel to us that I was drawn immediately to participate and part of this whole organization,” Afeyan said.
The awards ceremony was a very glamorous but emotional event, Afeyan said.
“The room was filled with people who had done unbelievable acts of heroism in an effort to help people’s lives,” Afeyan said. “I must say, I’m not sure there was anyone in the room that did not have tears in their eyes at anyone moment, hearing the stories of bravery and heroism and humanitarian aid.”
Star power
Clooney added enormous star power to the emotional event.
“The simple truth is that all of us here tonight are the result of someone’s act of kindness,” Clooney told the conference. “We all stand on the shoulders of good people who didn’t look away when we were in need.
“The Clooney family fled a famine in Ireland to come to the United States where their very survival required a room, a meal, a helping hand. We call them refugees, but they’re just people, like you and me.
“And if you stand right in front of them and take a look deep into their eyes, you might just see an Irish farmer fleeing a famine. If we are to survive as a people, we simply can’t look away. Not from the people of Syria or South Sudan or the Congo.”
Clooney handed the inaugural award to Marguerite Barankitse, who saved the lives of 30,000 children during Burundi’s bloody civil war. She a received a personal prize of $100,000 and was awarded a $1m grant to donate to a charity or organisation that has inspired her.
The selection committee of the prize included such luminaries as Nobel Laureates Elie Wiesel, Oscar Arias, Shirin Ebadi and Leymah Gbowee; former President of Ireland Mary Robinson; human rights activist Hina Jilani; former Australian Foreign Minister and President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group Gareth Evans and Clooney himself.
Giving back to the world
US actor George Clooney, foreground, puts a flower, as he attends a ceremony at a memorial to Armenians killed by the Ottoman Turks, in Yerevan, Armenia on Sunday, April 24, 2016. Vahan Stepanyan/ PAN Photo via AP
For over a hundred years, Armenians had tried to understand and define what had happened to them, Afeyan said.
“They’ve come to realize that the world now knows that what it is that happened, they know that it was genocide,” Afeyan said. “It’s time for Armenians to do more. We are in a position today to be able to give back to the world for all those who have helped us.”
Afeyan said his own grandparents, who survived the 1915 genocide, were helped by two German soldiers.
“Had it not been for their humanitarian act of saving their lives, I would not be around today,” Afeyan said. “And every single Armenian is a child or a grandchild of a genocide survivor, anywhere in the world.”
The Aurora Prize, which is given on behalf of the 1.5 million victims of the 1915 Armenian genocide, is a chance to highlight the plight of today’s victims of wars and human rights abuses and to celebrate the work of people who risk their lives to help victims of humanitarian crises all over the world, Afeyan said.
“It was the intention of the Aurora Prize to bring this out in the open on the international level and to say that us Armenians, this small people, who understand the second chance, who understand what it is to survive and to be helped by people, are here to bring this topic out in the open, to help bring awareness to exactly this issue, where people need to take action before it’s too late.”
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.