Yerevan /Mediamax/. Challenges of Teaching the Armenian Genocide in the 21st Century three-day international conference kicked off today at the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.

The conference was organized with the support of the Armenian Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports and the Science Committee.

Harutyun Marutyan, director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Foundation, said the regular visits of the students to the Armenian Genocide Memorial and discussions with their teachers in recent years have led to the conclusion that there is a real problem in terms of teaching the Armenian Genocide, the ministry said in a news release.

Deputy minister Zhanna Andreasyan said:

“It is important to understand how we can include the main conclusions of the conference in our agenda and make it part of our work. I wish all of us an effective discussion. I hope that this conference, in addition to its scientific and methodological significance, will also have a practical significance in terms of policy development.”

Harutyun Marutyan said that this is the first such conference in the Armenian reality.

“We are interested in getting an idea of how such a complex topic is taught in foreign countries, in an Armenian and non-Armenian environment. The memories of the Armenian Genocide are one of the pillars of our identity, and it is very important that the information is not only about the past, but also a transition be made to the present. We need to understand how this can be done.

The methodology of teaching the subject of genocide is very important in the school education system. The problem is what you teach and how you teach. There is absolutely no task to reinforce the victim’s stereotype, on the contrary, such knowledge will be offered that will make the student feel proud. It will be presented how long the Armenians managed to resist with weapons, fight without weapons, survive, win. These are important qualities that should be taught to children at that age,” he said.