More than 120 Armenian-Australians gathered at the Armenian Cultural Centre in Willoughby for the Armenian National Committee of Australia's (ANC Australia) first event for 2009; a lecture entitled “A Personal Journey to Rediscover the Armenian Relief Fund of Australia†delivered by Vicken Babkenian.
A researcher for the Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Babkenian utilised countless photos, articles and archives to demonstrate the valuable relationship between Australia and the Armenian Genocide.
Having recently rediscovered the history of the Armenian Relief Fund of Australia - a humanitarian campaign to relieve the sufferings of the Armenians during the Armenian Genocide, Babkenian claimed that the history of the Armenian and Australian peoples during the early part of the 20th century were intrinsically intertwined.
Babkenian, a former member of the Armenian Youth Federation of Australia (AYF Australia), also presented the testimonies of ANZAC Soldiers who lay witness to the deportation and massacre of the Armenians during WWI thus permanently linking the darkest days of the Armenian people to one of the proudest periods in Australian history.
The function was also an opportunity for another former AYF Australia member Shahane Bekarian, an award winning screen artist, to launch “The Armenian Genocide Documentary Projectâ€. The project, supported by ANC Australia, is an initiative to film a documentary instilling the significance of the Armenian Genocide into Australian culture.
Bekarian suggested that the unique project, scheduled for release in 2010, could propel the Armenian cause into a new medium and reach new audiences like it had never before done in Australia. ANC Australia believes this documentary project will influence the way the Australian public views the history of the Armenian Genocide.
Bekarian's and Babkenian's presentations were complemented by an announcement by Kevork Vartanian of ANC Australia, who officially announced the launch of its next big project, the ANC Australia publication due for release later this year.
Those who attended the function thoroughly enjoyed the presentations and were encouraged by the proactive work undertaken by ANC Australia and its supporters in raising awareness of the Armenian Genocide in Australia.
Continue to monitor the Armenia Weekly for upcoming ANC Australia functions and events, and remember to support your peak public affairs committee...
