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Co-Chair of the Aurora Prize George Clooney who is also present at the Second Global Forum against the Crime of Genocide, happening at Karen Demirchyan Complex thanked Ruben Vardayan for inviting him.

“This is my first visit to Armenia. I’m really excited to be here and participate in this event,” said Clooney.
Associate editor for The Washington Post, David Ignatius asked Clooney what made him come to Armenia and attend the Global Forum against the Crime of Genocide.

Clooney said that he was born in a time when people had to fight for their rights, and he was brought up on those principles. He also said that after reading about the Darfur Genocide, he has decided to use his fame to help those who suffered through the horrors of genocide.

According to Clooney, considering genocides massacres is wrong but one needs a long time to acknowledge it.
“It took a long and hard battle to finally call the things by their names. Everything is difficult, but [it happens] in time. You cannot deny what happened. You cannot bring back an entire race. [Destroying] people’s culture is genocide,” Clooney added.

He also noted that Vardan, Ruben and Nubar’s initiative aims at two things, to look back and never forget what happened, because that is part of not only Armenian but also world history, and to look ahead.

To remind, the Aurora Prize hosts the Aurora Dialogues – a series of insightful discussions between leading humanitarians, academics, philanthropists and media experts on some of today’s most pressing global challenges held within the scopes and under the patronage of the Second Global Forum against the Crime of Genocide.

The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity will be granted annually to an individual whose actions have had an exceptional impact on preserving human life and advancing humanitarian causes.

The Aurora Prize Laureate will be honored with a US $100,000 grant. In addition, that individual will have the unique opportunity to continue the cycle of giving by nominating organizations that inspired their work to receive a US $1,000,000 award.

The Aurora Prize will be awarded annually on April 24 in Yerevan, Armenia.