In recognition of his efforts to protect human rights, his commitment to education and his work advancing opportunities for all people, President Barack Obama was presented May 7 with the Ambassador for Humanity Award by Steven Spielberg, USC Trustee and founder of USC Shoah Foundation’s Institute for Visual History and Education.
Spielberg presented Obama with the foundation’s prestigious Ambassador for Humanity Award, noting that the president has created an Atrocities Prevention Board, declared the prevention of mass atrocities and genocide a core national security interest, and has directed the intelligence community to institutionalize a focus on stopping genocide. He also recently appointed the first-ever special envoy to U.S. Holocaust survivors.
Obama’s acceptance speech centered on the theme of memories and stories — good and bad. Urging the audience to share stories so others can learn from them, he credited Spielberg with safeguarding Holocaust stories before they are lost to history and thanked the USC Shoah Foundation for “setting alight an eternal flame of testimony that can’t be extinguished.”
USC President C. L. Max Nikias, who helped bring the institute to USC in 2006 when he served as the university’s provost, said the world must never turn away from evil.
“When we hear the voices of those in distress, we cannot remain silent,” he said. “Where we see evidence of injustice, we must work to right those wrongs. Where there is hatred and bigotry, we must bring respect and understanding. And when we are able to set aside our differences, only then can we fully embrace our shared humanity.”
Read the complete article on the gala at USC News.
View additional photos from the event on USC’s official Flickr site.