Sacramento – The California Armenian Legislative Caucus is holding two scholarship contests for the 2020 commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, Senator Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita), who represents the state’s 21st Senate District, announced Monday.
California high school students in 9th through 12th grades are invited to participate in an essay contest and/or a visual arts contest to increase greater awareness of the Armenian Genocide on its anniversary.
The California Armenian Legislative Caucus will contact winners directly and announce their names to media on Friday, April 16, 2020.
In addition to the scholarships, the winners will also receive a trip to Sacramento for a press conference where they will be acknowledged by the California Armenian Legislative Caucus during the Caucus’ annual Armenian Advocacy Day on April 27, 2020.
Original artwork will be requested from visual arts applicants if they are selected as a finalist, for display in the California State Capitol.
Submission Deadline for both contests is Monday, April 6, 2020.
Criteria for each contest can be found here.
Essay Scholarship Awards:
* First Place: $1,000
* Second Place: $750
* Third Place: $500
Visual Art Scholarship Awards:
* First Place: $1,000
* Second Place: $750
* Third Place: $500
The Armenian Genocide (also known as the Armenian Holocaust) was the systematic mass murder and expulsion of 1.5 million ethnic Armenians within the Ottoman Empire (most of whom were citizens) by the Ottoman government from approximately 1914 to 1923, notes Wikipedia.
The starting date is conventionally held to be 24 April 1915, the day that Ottoman authorities rounded up, arrested, and deported from Constantinople (now Istanbul) to the region of Angora (Ankara), 235 to 270 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders, the majority of whom were eventually murdered.
The genocide was carried out during and after World War I and implemented in two phases—the wholesale killing of the able-bodied male population through massacre and subjection of army conscripts to forced labour, followed by the deportation of women, children, the elderly, and the infirm on death marches leading to the Syrian Desert.
Read more about the Armenian Genocide here.
