The Power of Personal Archives in Witnessing, Teaching, and Visual Storytelling: The Armenian Memory Project.

The article focuses on the Armenian Memory Project (AMP), a collaborative initiative between the University of Connecticut and the New England Armenian community aimed at preserving Armenian cultural heritage and educating about the Armenian Genocide through personal family archives and digital storytelling. Central to the project was a university course that engaged students in creating a documentary film about the Dildilian family, Armenian immigrants whose extensive photographic archive documents their experiences before, during, and after the genocide. The project emphasizes the ethical importance of memory work in countering genocide denial, fostering empathy, and strengthening community identity, while serving as a model for human rights and genocide prevention education through archival-based, participatory learning. It also highlights the potential of digital media to revitalize historical narratives and engage younger generations in preserving diasporic heritage.