USC Shoah Foundation Launches New IWalk at the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan
The USC Shoah Foundation has released a powerful new testimony-based walking tour (IWalk) of the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex in Yerevan, Armenia, on its IWalk app ( IOS/Android). Timed with Genocide Awareness Month and the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24, this new IWalk, developed in collaboration with the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute (AGMI), adds Armenia to the list of 17 countries on the application that connect visitors to global sites of memory.
The Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex is composed of the largest monument dedicated to the memory of the 1.5 million martyred victims of the Armenian Genocide.
The IWalk guides visitors through the site’s history and symbolism as they engage with photos, maps, and context from its architects. Testimonies from genocide survivors, witnesses, and other prominent individuals deepen the impact of the experience. Visitors can listen to Armenian survivor S. Yeznig Boyadjian as he recalls his experience as a 13-year-old when the Ottoman Turkish government ordered the deportation of Armenians from his village. Later on, they can hear from Henry Morgenthau III, grandson to the U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1913-1916, as he describes his grandfather’s tenacity in urging the Ottoman Young Turk leadership to end the violence against its Armenian citizens.
“The testimonies and media featured in this IWalk contextualize and humanize the history represented at the memorial and offer an opportunity for deep learning and reflection while on-site,” said Dr. Sedda Antekelian, USC Shoah Foundation Senior Learning & Development Specialist. “Playing a role in developing this IWalk with our partners has been a truly meaningful experience. I am excited that this IWalk is available in English and Eastern Armenian.”
A longtime partner of the USC Shoah Foundation, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute is a key access site of the USC Shoah Foundation’s testimony archive (formerly the Visual History Archive). This archive contains more than 61,000 testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust, contemporary antisemitism, the Armenian Genocide, and other modern atrocities. It includes over 1,300 testimonies related to the Armenian experience, drawn from the Armenian Film Foundation collection and the Richard G. Hovannisian Armenian Genocide Oral History Collection.
“Featuring the memorial on this powerful educational platform makes it accessible to a wider international audience, including students, educators, and visitors from around the world,” said Dr. Edita Gzoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Foundation. “This partnership not only honors the memory of the victims but also reinforces our continued commitment to genocide education, remembrance, and prevention.”
The USC Shoah Foundation’s team of educators and scholars carefully curated the IWalks designed to contextualize history and create an experience that provides visitors with a personalized learning experience at global sites of memory.