Yerevan /Mediamax/. 100 donors have the opportunity to join the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity in contributing US $ 7,000,000 to children in need.

“The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is an expression of gratitude to those who helped our ancestors during and after the Genocide. We created the Aurora Prize to honor individuals and organizations undertaking similarly heroic acts to enable others to survive in the modern day. As Armenians, we have an important role to play within the international humanitarian community,” explained Dr. Noubar Afeyan, co-founder of 100 LIVES and the Aurora Prize to Mediamax.

“In advance of this April’s inaugural Aurora Prize ceremony, we are assembling a team of 100 upstanders to donate $ 70,000 each to provide children facing difficult circumstances in the Middle East with world-class educational opportunities,” Dr. Afeyan continued. “These children will attend one of the esteemed United World Colleges (UWC) international network of schools.”

The inaugural Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity will be awarded on April 24 in Yerevan.

It will be preceded by two days of events, which will bring representatives of international organizations and renowned humanitarians to Armenia. Aurora Prize Selection Committee Co-Chairs, Nobel Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, and Oscar-winning actor and humanitarian George Clooney, will honor the first Aurora Prize Laureate, bringing their story of heroism to the world. 100 donors will join in the weekend’s proceedings, joining the worldwide humanitarian movement by empowering the next generation of global leaders with access to education.

“The Middle East is facing difficult times today. We must take a leading role in the worldwide effort to support the region. We are grateful that, a century ago, the people of the Middle East provided food and shelter to allow our ancestors to persevere. We are confident that this sentiment resonates across the world and will compel many to join us in this humanitarian movement," added Noubar Afeyan.

On behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity will be granted annually to an individual whose actions have had an exceptional impact on preserving human life and advancing humanitarian causes.