SYDNEY, Australia—The recently re-elected Premier of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian will address the National Armenian Genocide Commemoration Evening on Wednesday, April 24 in Sydney.
Last month, Ms Berejiklian—the grandchild of Armenian Genocide survivors—became the first female to be popularly elected as the Premier of Australia’s largest state, after historically leading her party to election victory.
“We are honored that the National Armenian Genocide Commemoration Evening will be graced by the presence of Premier Gladys Berejiklian,” said Armenian National Committee of Australia Executive Director, Haig Kayserian. “It should not surprise us that after making history last month, the Premier’s commitment to honoring and advancing the Armenian cause remains as steadfast as ever.”
The National Armenian Genocide Commemoration Evening, organised by the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee of Australia, will include a keynote address by the Vice President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Dr. Melanie O’Brien. Dr. O’Brien is a Senior Lecturer of International Law at the University of Western Australia, teaching International Humanitarian Law, Public International Law, and Research units.
Dr. O’Brien’s keynote address at the National Armenian Genocide Commemoration Evening is titled “Social Death: The Armenian Genocide and Cultural Destruction,” where she will be speaking on photographs she has taken of specific sites of Armenian heritage. She chose sites that were destroyed in order to prove that targeting religion and culture is as much a tactic of genocide as physical destruction.
The National Armenian Genocide Commemoration Evening is an annual event. It will be held at The Concourse in Chatswood. The event is regularly attended by approximately 1,000 members of the Sydney Armenian community. In attendance are various religious, political, NGO, media, diplomatic and academic leaders from across the country.
PREMIER GLADYS AND Dr. MELANIE O`BRIAN.
YOU MAKE US PROUD.