The Aurora prize

Anita Vogel

Based in Los Angeles and New York City, Anita Vogel is a highly regarded correspondent for the FOX News Channel, which she joined in 2001. She has received numerous awards, including one from the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters for “Best Documentary,” the Edward R. Murrow award and a regional Emmy Award for “Best Newscast.” Of particular note, Vogel received a Golden Mike award in “Best Breaking News Coverage” for her exclusive interview with former United States President Bill Clinton during the Nevada Caucuses. “I don’t know whether I’ll ever encounter a more exciting interview,” Vogel says.
Newscaster extraordinaire on her “hidden Armenian” family
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Alexis Ohanian

Forbes magazine calls Alexis Ohanian “Mayor of the Internet” and has included him in its “30 Under 30” list as an important figure in the technology industry for two years in a row. He was featured as “Champion of Innovation” in Wired magazine in 2013. A fan of System of a Down, Alexis believes that the band’s best show so far has been the April 23 concert in Yerevan this year.
Reddit cofounder: “Being Armenian means triumph to me”
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Edward Djerejian

“Where are the Nelson Mandelas?” asks Edward Djerejian, sitting forward in his office at Rice University in Houston. “I don't see a Nelson Mandela in Turkey. I don't see a Nelson Mandela in Azerbaijan. I don't see a Nelson Mandela in Armenia. We need one. The great challenge for Armenia now is reconciliation with its neighbors.” If anyone can ask a question like this, it is Djerejian.
Son of Genocide Survivor and Famous US Diplomat
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100 Armenians Who Changed the World

Armenians are an ancient nation whose sons and daughters have made quite an impact on the human history. Science, art, politics, finance – you’d be hard pressed to find a field, in which Armenian men and women don’t thrive. Their talents have made our world a much better place, so here are their names for the grateful descendants to remember*! 

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The Funniest Woman West of Istanbul

By Christopher Atamian
 
Two-time Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress Andrea Martin has always been her own woman — independent, fun, ambitious and wildly popular: homecoming queen at her high school graduation in Portland, Maine, beloved member of Canada's "SCTV" and doyenne of offbeat comedic genius everywhere.
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Vahe Berberian

“I won’t join the revolution unless I can dance,” he says, echoing the words of Emma Goldman. His long, white braids, ear piercings and goatee make him one of the most recognizable men in the Armenian world.
Lebanese-Armenian artist stages one-man cultural revolution
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Henry Morgenthau

Henry Morgenthau was a man with the courage to stand alone. As the US Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, appointed by President Wilson in 1913, Morgenthau found himself confronting a tide of reports detailing wholesale massacre across the Ottoman Empire.
Henry Morgenthau was a man with the courage to stand alone
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Peter Balakian

Peter Balakian, poet, memoirist and scholar, is the author of seven volumes of poetry, four books of prose and several collaborative translations. His 1997 New York Times best-selling book “Black Dog of Fate,” winner of the PEN/Albrand Prize for memoir, is widely credited with setting a young generation of Armenian-Americans on a path toward re-discovering their roots.
Award winning poet and New York Times bestselling author: “My grandmother’s gift is irredeemable”
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Serj Tankian on a Mission

By Christopher Atamian
 
As lead singer of the rock band System of a Down (SOAD), Serj Tankian has used his international fame to speak out on the Armenian Genocide by means of both his work and all other imaginable platforms. 
 
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The woman behind the Prize

Aurora, the inspirational woman behind the Prize

When we decided to create a global humanitarian Prize, we looked for inspiration at the stories of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide.

One story was particularly moving.

Aurora Mardiganian was a young girl who lived through horrors of the Genocide - forced to witness and experience terrible acts, but was then able to escape; making an epic journey to build a new life in America.

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One Man’s Vision: David Yan

David Yan is a man of many talents and unparalleled energy. Born in Yerevan in1968 to an Armenian mother and a Chinese father, in his lifetime he has already built a global high-tech empire (ABBYY), developed the first pocket computer for young people (Cybiko), created a new-generation management system for restaurants and hospitality services (iiko) and a mobile payments system (Platius), opened an art café and four other venues in Moscow, launched an educational foundation (Ayb), published a book (“Now I Eat All I Want!”), designed a home for his family, earned a Ph.D.
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AURORA PRIZE

“It’s time to show the power of what we feel.”