From 2027 onwards, Year 7 to 10 students in New South Wales will be taught about Australia’s and New Zealand’s humanitarian efforts during WWI that saved survivors of the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocides.

The inclusion in the curriculum was made known to the Armenian National Committee of Australia in a formal letter sent from the state Minister for Education, Prue Car, a week prior to the official release of the History Curriculum by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).

Included in the new curriculum core study is a section, where teachers will be delivering classes about “Significant groups, individuals, ideas, beliefs, practices and events in Australia: making a nation – from Federation to WWI”, which include “Australia’s civic action and humanitarian response during WWI”.

The cornerstone achievement was welcomed by the Joint Justice Initiative (JJI), the advocacy group of the three communities working towards parliamentary recognition of the genocides of Armenians, Assyrians and Hellenes since its formation in March 2020.

Members of the Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (AIHGS) – including Professor Peter Stanley and Vicken Babkenian who co-authored ‘Australia-Armenia & the Great War’ – have been among the cohort of scholars who contributed to recognition efforts, by making public knowledge the ANZAC connection to the rescuing of Indigenous Armenians, Assyrians and Hellenes of Anatolia and Mesopotamia amidst the genocide.

“This is the beginning of a new era in the pursuit for genocide recognition, where awareness and education will play a pivotal role,” Armenian National Committee of Australia Executive Director Michael Kolokossian said in a statement.

“By ensuring that future generations learn about humanitarianism during the 1915 Genocides, we are also equipping students with the knowledge to stand against future atrocities.”

In a statement announcing the news, the JJI and the AIHGS have committed to develop resources ready for Australian classrooms.

The decision on the new Syllabus implementation set for the 2027 school year, preceded a motion unanimously adopted in the NSW Legislative Council calling for mandated Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocide education and the establishment of a museum, as well as a letter co-signed by over 25 academics.