The Aurora prize

“My father visited Armenia during the Soviet era; he went to Tsitsernakaberd and returned a changed man. He broke down and cried while standing next to the eternal flame. It was as if the pillars had crushed him. He still cries when he tells the story. I only understood the essence and significance of Tsitsernakaberd when I visited the memorial,” says filmmaker Atom Egoyan.

When Aline opened her first restaurant in Beirut she called it “Mayrig,” which means “mother” in Armenian, because she learned to cook from her mother. Today, Kamakian owns an international chain of Armenian restaurants. The walls are decorated with photos of Aline’s ancestors who miraculously escaped the Genocide, while the menu is full of traditional Western Armenian dishes.

The meeting place is always the same – the Ara Сafé in the heart of Istanbul. As the owner slowly makes the rounds, even the regulars fall silent and contemplate the legendary figure. Ara Güler is one of the most accomplished documentary photographers of the 20th century and the founder of photojournalism in Turkey. His photographic legacy amounts to over two million stories told.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Michael Aram is best known to the world and to the Armenian community as a creative artist who took a simple idea – working with traditional Indian metal-crafting techniques, which he fell in love as a youth – and transforming it into a global lifestyles brand with a distinct style that also draws from his Armenian roots.

“The word ‘Armenia’ had a most sacred connotation in our extended family. It was as though we grew up in its shadow. It was a word that encompassed our entire life to the core of its very essence,” says New York-based actress Nora Armani. “Every time I visit Armenia I feel revitalized, my homeland strengthens me. I am multilingual and I perform in many languages, including English, French, Arabic, Italian, Turkish and even Russian, but it is essential to have the opportunity to perform in Armenian; visiting Armenia offers me the exceptional opportunity to perform and live in my mother tongue.”

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.