Canadian War Museum to award five $1,000 prizes for high school students
January 18, 2007 |
Canadian War Museum to award five $1,000 prizes for high school students researching Canada’s Changing Role in Afghanistan
Ottawa, Ontario, January 18, 2007 — In 2007, the Canadian War Museum will award up to five $1,000 prizes to the winners of its annual Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards. The awards are funded by the Friends of the Canadian War Museum, through a bequest from Colonel Douglas H. Gunter’s family. The nationwide awards are open to graduating secondary school students.The theme for this year is Canada’s Changing Role in Afghanistan. Students’ original works can explore any aspect of Canada’s presence in Afghanistan and the nature of, or reasons for, any changes in that presence. Questions to be considered might include: What Canadian interests are served by the ongoing mission? How has it affected Canadians at home and internationally? How have the Afghan people responded, or been affected? Completed applications must be postmarked and mailed no later than March 15, 2007.
“One of the important roles of the Canadian War Museum is to engage youth and get them thinking about history and its relevance to their lives,” says J. (Joe) Geurts, Director and CEO of the Canadian War Museum. “It also permits students to consider the role of the Canadian government and military in meeting its international commitments, especially one involving heavy combat on a scale not seen by Canada since the Korean War,” he adds.
Students can submit projects in wide range of media, including text, visual art, Web design and audio or video production. This year’s theme coincides with the War Museum’s newest special exhibition, Afghanistan: A Glimpse of War, opening on February 9 and showing until January 6, 2008.
Angus Brown, President of the Friends of the Canadian War Museum explains the significance of this new award. “Colonel Gunter’s family, in making the bequest, had a very specific objective: ‘to help young people understand better the realities of war, especially both World Wars, Korea and peacekeeping’. This generous gift allows us to help the Canadian War Museum in fulfilling its National mandate, by funding excellent initiatives such as this award.”
Since their inception in 1998, the Canadian War Museum History Awards have distributed some $38,000 in prizes to 30 students across the country.
Full details and requirements of the competition can be found online at https://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/education/award_e.html. .
Additional information about the Friends of the Canadian War Museum is available online at http://www.friends-amis.org/fcwmindex_e.html. or by phone at 819 776-8618.
Information (media):
Christina Selin
Senior Communications Officer
Canadian War Museum
Telephone: 819 776-8607
E-mail: christina.selin@warmuseum.ca.
Pierre Leduc
Media Relations Officer
Canadian War Museum
Phone: 819 776-8608
E-mail: pierre.leduc@warmuseum.ca.
2007-01-18 00:00:00.000
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