2024 Aurora Events in Los Angeles

The GRATITUDE IN ACTION newsletter is tailored to keep Aurora’s community connected and up to date on our progress. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative empowers modern-day heroes improving the lives of those in need across the globe while creating a universal model for others to follow. This May, Aurora will host a series of events in Los Angeles, CA, organized in partnership with The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA School of Law. Scroll down to learn more about this exciting opportunity to celebrate the best of humanity.

On the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide Day of Remembrance, Aurora Co-Founder Noubar Afeyan issued a global call to action to prevent a second Armenian Genocide. The Call to Action underscores the similarities in atrocities that took place 109 years ago and are happening again today. Afeyan also calls on the government of Azerbaijan to restore peace in the region and to act with justice towards the prisoners it has unlawfully captured.

“Even as we mourn the past, history is repeating itself. Armenians are once again the target of ethnic cleansing, political leaders are unlawfully held as hostages, and the country of Armenia faces existential threats to its sovereignty and self-determination.”

The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative will hold a series of events in Los Angeles, CA, organized in partnership with The The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA School of Law at UCLA School of Law . Leading humanitarians will come together to discuss the world’s most pressing issues and learn the name of the 2024 Aurora Prize Laureate.

Chart-topping and Grammy-nominated artist Aloe Blacc will debut a new anthem, “SHINE,” in honor of the Humanitarians supported by the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. The new single will be released on streaming services the same evening of its live debut at the 2024 Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity Ceremony in Los Angeles on May 9, 2024, at 9 p.m. PT.

World leaders, activists, entrepreneurs, and academics will convene at the Forum to discuss the most pressing global challenges. Zeid bin Ra’ad Al Hussein, president & CEO of International Peace Institute (IPI) , will be the keynote speaker offering his perspective on the importance of standing firm on human rights at a time when millions of people continue to have their human rights denied by autocratic and populist regimes.

In her compelling op-ed released by Devex , Armine Afeyan , Executive Director of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, talks about the role of organizations like Aurora in redirecting global philanthropy towards embracing more localized funds and the need to support on-the-ground humanitarians — an approach that engages and empowers communities.

On April 24, 2024, representatives of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative paid their respects at the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex, honoring the memory of the martyrs of the #ArmenianGenocide. Prior to that, they participated in the march to the Tsitsernakaberd to demonstrate solidarity with Armenian prisoners who have been unlawfully detained in Baku prisons, including Aurora Co-Founder Ruben Vardanyan .

The Chronicles of Aurora manuscript has been put on display in the “Matenadaran” Research Institute of Ancient Manuscripts named after Mesrop Mashtots , the national repository of ancient Armenian manuscripts located in Yerevan, Armenia. The showcased page is dedicated to a new memorial honoring Aurora Mardiganian, a survivor of the Armenian Genocide and the inspiration behind the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and Prize. The unveiling of the memorial in Yerevan is scheduled for the fall of 2024, but the sketch of the sculpture has already been added to the Chronicles of Aurora. This latest addition puts the finishing touches on this unique manuscript, which be displayed in the Map’s Hall of the Matenadaran until May 24, 2024.