Corning Centre Introduces “Women of 1915” at POM Special Screening

The Corning Centre had the honour of introducing Bared Maronian’s inspiring and powerful documentary Women of 1915 for the second time at the Hamazkayin Toronto Pomegranate Film Festival Committee’s special encore presentation in benefit of A.R.S. Armenian School's annual Telethon on Saturday, February 25, 2017. Corning Centre founder and chair Raffi Sarkissian introduced the film, stating, “The documentary you are about to see is very unique, as was Bared Maronian’s previous documentary, Orphans of the Genocide. Both left audiences worldwide with knowledge they would not have otherwise come across and a high level of curiosity, prompting one to dig deeper and learn more. Bared’s creations embody every aspect of an excellent documentary. Therefore, it is no coincidence that he has received many honours and awards.”

At the event, the Corning Centre’s director of finance, Paul Ternamian, presented the Speak Out contest to the audience and invited the awardees onto the stage. Director Bared Maronian joined the Corning Centre in presenting certificates and awards. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, among its several initiatives, the Corning Centre held an essay and creative-writing contest called Speak Out. The contest was open to all senior-level high school students in Ontario. It awarded first-place prizes of $500 for each category and runner-up prizes of $100.

This year’s winners represented two schools from two school boards: Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute from the Waterloo Region District School Board and Sir Allan Macnab Secondary School from the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.

This year's winners were fortunate to have had exemplary teachers who attended the event, both of whom have worked with the Corning Centre in the past: Erin Ledlow from Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute from the Waterloo Region District School Board and Deborah Brown from Sir Allan Macnab Secondary School from the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board. The Corning Centre recognized the two outstanding Ontario teachers for their commitment to genocide education. They received copies of Aram Adjemian’s book A Call From Armenia: Canada’s Response to the Armenian Genocide and Bared Maronian’s two films, on DVD: Orphans of the Genocide and Women of 1915.

The prize winners of the essay contest were Gabriella Zepeda Ayala (first place) and Nate Skeen (second place). The winners of the creative-writing contest were Casey Monkelbaan (first place) and Lareb Zahra (second place).

We want to congratulate all the winners and participants and to thank every teacher for their continued support and dedication to genocide education. Paul Ternamian concluded the award ceremony by stating, “Education is the most effective means to equip every new generation with the knowledge and skills needed to become positive contributors in society and agents of change. The grade 11 Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity Course has been doing just that, thanks to dedicated teachers like Erin and Deborah.”