End of Atrocity

“Genocide,” Pope Francis called it while addressing his congregation earlier this April. On the 100th Anniversary of a mass killing that left an estimated 1.5 million Armenians dead at the hands of Ottoman Turks, the Pope ignited a global response condemning the slaughter as the “first genocide of the 20th century”. Days later, Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, would go on to call the mass killings as an “atrocity crime,” urging the international community to strengthen its capacity to prevent such crimes from ever occurring.  

Despite the 100 years that have passed since the massing killings that occurred in what is now present-day Turkey, the effects and animosity from the century old atrocity still remain relevant issues today. Yet, far too often, we continue to let acts of atrocity occur right under our noses. Too often, our vows to “never again” let such crimes happen fall on deaf ears.

“Today, too, we are experiencing a sort of genocide created by general and collective indifference,” Francis said during his April 12th address.

At 3 Generations, our “End of Atrocity” project is not a far off hope but an evolving call for social action, for the realization that the crimes we allow to occur today will have lasting effects on the generations tomorrow. Through our “End of Atrocity” campaign, we are asking global leaders and social movers for their visions of a world without crimes against humanity. With our end game of achieving the end of atrocity, we explore the root causes of mass atrocity and address the necessary steps to dispelling the collective indifference facilitate continued crimes. Join 3 Generations as we fight to make “never again” a reality. With your continued support we can take the crucial steps in envisioning a world without atrocity.

As we write this update, the world is shaking with rage and grief over the murders of innocent people in France #JeSuisCharlie. And yet, at a time like this it is more important than ever to imagine a better world, for if each of us cannot do so then how can we create that world? The lessons of the last few days in France reflect our thinking here at 3 Generations, especially as the world is coming together to show solidarity in a time of crisis.

At 3 Generations our End of Atrocity project is one of our absolute favorites– perhaps the most important work we do. We like to think of this as our end game: by asking thought leaders and those who inspire us to share their visions of a world without crimes against humanity we are helping create the change we all wish to see.

In 2015 we will approach this work with new angles and insight. First off we have interviewed two brilliant scientists to hear their visions of a world without atrocity. Bill Joy is one of the great father’s of the internet (you can read about him in Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers) and Peter de Menocal is one the world’s foremost earth and climate scientists, based at Columbia University’s Lamont Doherty Earth Laboratory. We are in the final stages of editing their words and they are quite distinct and surprising. After that we move to Israel and Palestine to discover what leaders there are envisioning. 2015 is set to become one of the great years to unravel what the End of Atrocity will look like. Stay tuned!

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Now, more than ever we need renew our commitment to visualizing a better world as we face these harrowing times. With 9 million Syrian refugees displaced as a result of war, ebola costing thousands their lives, conflict in the middle east, institutionalized racism, African-American teens asked to leave neighborhoods by the NYPD, sexual assault charges standing without conviction, climate change, the prevalence of human trafficking, and so much more, it is time for serious change. We are in a period of unraveling, as aggression and hatred seem to prevail. But as persistent and extreme as these atrocities are, we have the artillery to fight back: hope, discussion, optimism, and action.

As we stand back and consider the world around us, it is so important that we take time to commit ourselves to a world that values peace and acceptance over power and strife. You can be a part of this change and help 3 Generations amplify the voices of those whose stories are unheard, whose odds are stacked against them. A donation can help shape a better tomorrow.

You + Global Giving + 3 Generations = 50% more support for survivors!

Tomorrow, your support of our project means even more. Global Giving is offering to match your donation by 50% on July 16th from 9:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. (EDT). 

Take this opportunity to make your yearly or monthly donation. 

There are other exciting prizes for our project as well, including big cash bonuses that will help us all year long as we record more stories from Rwanda, Tibet, Cambodia, and the US. You can help us share these stories.

Hurry, this offer is only viable from 9:00 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on July 16th!

Thanks to our generous donors who have already helped us get closer to our goal.  Our team is so lucky to have such great supporters!

What, to you, does a world without atrocity look like?

This is the question 3 Generations has been posing to global leaders, thinkers and artists for the past several years. In the last couple months, we were able to conduct interviews with two incredibly inspiring individuals. The first, Lama Fakih, is the Syria and Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch. Her interview was filmed in conjunction with our latest project- Three and can be viewed here. The second interviewee, Bill Joy, co-founded Sun Microsystems in 1982 and served as its chief scientist until 2003. Today, however, Joy is a Partner Emeritus at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers where he works to fund and support innovative and sustainable technologies that address the issue of climate change. Check out his interview here.

As always, we thank you for your continued support of our work. So much of what we do depends on people like you. Please consider helping us continue the End of Atrocity project by donating today.