Watch a special sneak preview of the "The Last Survivor" today

Genocide Prevention Month starts today. Please join us for our online launch event - the premiere of an excerpt of the film The Last Survivor.

Watch the film to mark the start of Genocide Prevention Month.

The Last Survivor, a documentary that will be released later this year by Righteous Pictures, tells the story of four survivors who have become anti-genocide advocates. After you watch the 20-minute preview, we invite you to view the podcast of an discussion among survivors and activists about how to prevent mass atrocity crimes - especially the ongoing genocide in Darfur.

Watch a special sneak preview of the The Last Survivor today.

You can watch the film now - or organize your family, friends or community group for a "not on our watch" watch party. We also hope you will attend or organize a remembrance event, participate in our “Books of Conscience” project, spreading the word, and join us on Facebook or Twitter.

We need your help to show the strength of the anti-genocide movement and to encourage immediate action on Darfur. We hope you will observe Genocide Prevention Month because it’s up to all of us to make sure history does not repeat itself.

Do It Yourself: Observe Genocide Prevention Month at the Launch

Genocide Prevention Month will have its official launch on April 2, 2009 – at a computer near you. A sneak preview screening of the documentary The Last Survivor will be followed by a panel discussion featuring genocide survivors, policy experts, and prominent activists.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. WATCH THE LAST SURVIVOR – BY YOURSELF OR WITH A FRIEND

2. ORGANIZE A “NOT ON OUR WATCH” WATCH PARTY FOR APRIL 2 OR FOR ANY TIME IN APRIL

3. DISCUSS THE FILM: FIND SUGGESTED QUESTIONS HERE

On April 2, we will broadcast a 20-min sneak preview of The Last Survivor, a film about four genocide survivors who have become anti-genocide advocates. Following the film, we will podcast a conversation among genocide survivors and policy experts moderated by former CNN anchor, Andrea Koppel.

If you are going to organize a group, here are some suggestions:

Step 1: Find a venue -- consider approaching schools, houses of worship, or community centers. Or plan to meet in someone’s home

Step 2: Invite friends, students, colleagues, family, and local congregations to the film screening

Step 3: Watch the podcast after the screening – and host a discussion as part of the screening

Step 4: You can consider inviting local genocide survivors and Darfur activists to participate

Step 5: Register your event on the Genocide Prevention Month website

Step 6: On the appointed date, watch the film at www.genocidepreventionmonth.org and discuss it using the discussion guide. (Please photograph or videotape any event you organize and send the images to Genocide Prevention Month.)

Other things you can do:

• Participate in our “Books of Conscience” project.
• Join our Facebook group -- “Genocide Prevention Month April 2009” – for updates about future events and as a way to communicate with others involved in the cause.
• Check out our list of 30 Things You Can Do throughout the month.
• Spread the word about Genocide Prevention Month to friends, neighbors, co-workers and family members. Encourage them to sign the pledge to observe Genocide Prevention Month.

Discussion Questions (for activists):

1. Jacqueline's story from the 1994 Rwandan genocide sheds light on the fact that it could have been prevented. Once we know genocide is taking place, what obligation does the international community have to try to stop it?
   
   
2. The survivors in the film make clear their commitment to ensuring that governments respond when civilian populations are at risk. How can you build a constituency that cares about stopping mass atrocity crimes in your community?
   
   
3. Adam talks about his desire to return home to Darfur as soon as it is safe. He is one of 4 million Darfuris who have been forced to flee their homes since 2003. How can you work in your community to help refugees rebuild their lives?
   
   
4. The crime of genocide seeks to destroy a people – based on their identity. It kills not only their people, but their culture, their values, and the stories and lessons they pass on from one generation to the next. What do you think the world has lost in allowing genocide to take place around the globe in the past?

How To: Organize Your Bookstore or Library

We have created a partnership with the American Booksellers Association to encourage participation by bookstores in Genocide Prevention Month. (The ABA is the trade association for independent bookstores – learn more about them and find member booksellers here.)

As part of this partnership, the ABA has encouraged members to to create an educational table of books about genocide using GPM and the ABA's list of notable books about genocide: "Books of Conscience." Doesn't include your favorite? More books are listed here, and you can contact us with any further suggestions.

Help us by asking your bookseller to participate!

1. Print GPM's tabletop card on an 8 x 11 sheet of white paper or card stock
2. Frame it, tape it to a frame, or tape it to the front of a folder
   OR--Contact us and we'll send you a free organizing kit, including how to guides, the Books of Conscience list, and a sign as seen on the "Books of Conscience" table below
3. Take the sign and the "Books of Conscience" list to your local bookstore, library, school library, university library, Barnes and Noble, or Borders
4. Ask the store or library to adopt Genocide Prevention Month for April by setting up a display table of bestselling books about genocide

A display table can highlight "Books of Conscience" and other books about genocide.

Click here to find an ABA Bookseller near you. To purchase "Books of Conscience", click on the titles in the .pdf document above or visit www.indiebound.org.

Want to do more? Ask the book store or library to stage an event with you. We recommend:

Ceremonies. To commemorate Genocide Prevention Month, invite local genocide survivors to read from works about genocide and ask for a moment of silence for the people of Darfur and other places where there are mass atrocity crimes.

Panels. Invite local Darfur experts and/or other survivors to talk about genocide. Invite a local professor to talk about a particular book or genocide.

Readings. Ask prominent people in the community to read passages from books about genocide.

Read our organizing guides for step-by-step instructions on how to plan and execute your event. Don't forget to add your event to our calendar so we can alert anti-genocide activists in your area to attend.

30 Things You Can Do During Genocide Prevention Month

There are many ways to participate in Genocide Prevention Month – from sending an email or watching a movie to organizing a commemoration event or film series in April.

Join the movement and show your support for genocide prevention by taking an action every day in April. Here are 30 ways to get involved. We welcome your ideas: contact us with your suggestions for more ways to take action in April.

1. Join our Books Campaign and ask your local bookseller to display books about genocide and mass atrocities
2. Support humanitarian organizations working in Darfur and Eastern Chad – they are the lifeline of support for millions of civilians
3. Read the recommendations of the Genocide Prevention Task Force, co-chaired by Madeleine Albright and William Cohen, which set out a blueprint for US policymakers on genocide and mass atrocity prevention
4. Ask your friends and family to observe Genocide Prevention Month
5. Watch The Killing Fields, a movie about the Cambodian genocide (or organize a screening at a school, house of worship or library)
6. April 6 marks the anniversary of the siege of Sarajevo. Commemorate the Bosnian genocide and llearn about the massacre at Srebrenica by “visiting“ the Memorial Center Srebrenica-Potočari
7. Genocide in Rwanda began on April 7, 1994. Commemorate those lost in Rwanda by “visiting” the Kigali Memorial Centre
8. Print copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and give to friends
9. Follow Genocide Prevention Project on twitter
10. Invite people to your house to watch and discuss of a movie about genocide using our list of movies
11. Watch 20 Voices – stories of survivors of the Armenian Genocide
12. Encourage your school to adopt anti-genocide curricular materials. Facing History, And Ourselves has a range of resources
13. Watch Schindler’s List, a movie about the Holocaust (or organize a screening at a school, house of worship or library)
    
14. Learn how the global community can prevent genocide by reading our report: More than an Ounce Required
15. Watch Sometimes in April, a film about the Rwandan genocide
16. Learn more about the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo from the Enough Project
17. On April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh. Commemorate the Cambodian genocide by "visiting" Tuol Sleng, the Khmer Rouge’s torture center
18. Order a green wristband to show your support for action on Darfur
19. Learn about what’s happening in Somalia from Human Rights Watch
20. Read The Cellist of Sarajevo, a novel about ethnic cleansing in Bosnia
21. Learn about how Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Israel commemorates Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day, April 21
    
22. Set up an information table at a local school or library
23. Learn about mass atrocities in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq from the International Crisis Group
24. Commemorate the Armenian genocide on April 24 by “visiting” Tsisernakaberd, Armenia’s Genocide Museum
25. Donate your Facebook status to Genocide Prevention Month
26. Join a community of advocates advocating a style of diplomacy championed by the late peace-maker Sergio Vieira de Mello
27. Do you know what is happening in Burma? Join the 1 Million Voices for Burma campaign
28. Watch The Devil Came on Horseback, a documentary about the Darfur genocide
29. Look at the history of genocide in photos "Never Again, Again, Again…"
30. Join an effort to require states to institute mandatory genocide curricular materials in middle schools and high schools by visiting Teach Against Genocide

In April, Six Sorrowful Reminders of the Consequences of Hatred, Racism, Intolerance and Ignorance

This April survivors of genocide and mass atrocities from Darfur, Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia, the Holocaust, and Armenia are uniting with each other and advocates to observe Genocide Prevention Month.

In a statement to announce the month, more than 50 organizations from over 10 countries called on powerful nations of the world to make genocide prevention a national and international priority and to implement policies to avert the systematic mass killing of civilians, and to take immediate action on the worsening situation in Darfur.

Why April? Remarkably, six genocides have major anniversaries in the month of April – a tragic testament to the international community's inexcusable failure to stop inhuman and barbarous acts.

Find out how to get involved, take action and learn more at www.GenocidePreventionMonth.org and join Genocide Prevention Month on Facebook.

Events in observation of the Genocide Prevention Month will be worldwide. A preview of "That Last Survivor" -- a documentary that explores the idea of genocide in the 21st century as a platform for social action -- will premiere online April 2. The film follows the lives of Survivors of four genocides and mass atrocities -- The Holocaust, Rwanda, Darfur, and Congo.


The Last Survivor extended trailer from The Last Survivor on Vimeo.