New Project: Oral History and Photograph Online Archive

The Multicultural History Society of Ontario is delighted to announce that work has officially begun on its 3-year project to create an online archive documenting the immigrant and ethnic experience. The archive will feature oral history interviews and historical photographs from the MHSO collection, augmented by contextual commentary and innovative educational programming.

It is now exactly forty years since Canada became the first country in the world to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy, and Ontario has a rich history of ethnocultural diversity. This online archive will help educators tutor students on this vital aspect of our provincial heritage, and highlight to all Ontarians and visitors our vibrant cultural mosaic.

The MHSO gratefully acknowledges the generous financial support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation that makes this project possible. A leading grant-maker in Canada, OTF strengthens the capacity of the voluntary sector through investments in community-based initiatives. An agency of the Government of Ontario, OTF builds healthy and vibrant communities. 

Anyone who is interested in becoming involved in this project as a volunteer is encouraged to contact Cathy Leekam at cathy.leekam@mhso.ca or 416-979-2973.

 

Chinese Canadian Women, 1923-1967 website

Discover a compelling chapter of Canadian history through the experiences of Chinese Canadian women. Their stories demonstrate the contributions they made to their communities and to Canada, and the obstacles they overcame during the Exclusion Period (1923-1947) and subsequent decades of discriminatory immigration policies (1947-1967).

The Chinese Canadian Women, 1923-1967 website, features four exhibits, a collection database, two activities, education resources for teachers and resources for community engagement. Thirty-three new oral history interviews and over 1,000 historical photographs and records are brought together in this website.

This project was made possible through funding from the Government of Canada (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Community Historical Recognition Program).

 

 

Family Stories, Treasured Memories: Exhibition and Program Website Launch

We are delighted to announce the launch of the Family Stories, Treasured Memories exhibition and website. Family Stories, Treasured Memories is a heritage sharing programme that encourages young people to explore their unique family histories, as well as those of their peers, through research and creative public display.

Visit the Family Stories website to download lesson plans and digital content to complete the programme in the classroom.

The Family Stories, Treasured Memories exhibition showcases multicultural, intergenerational family migration stories as told by students. It contains a selection of the many exceptional projects created in Toronto during the school programme’s pilot year. The exhibition will be traveling to various locations across Toronto in 2009.

This project was made possible through the generous support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

 

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Holiday Lights: A Celebration of Multicultural Traditions

The MHSO is pleased to present Holiday Lights: A Celebration of Multicultural Traditions, an exhibition that will be on display at the Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre, during the winter holiday season (November 2007 - February 2008).

Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre contracted the MHSO to curate a multicultural holiday exhibition that examines different holidays, celebrations, and festivals that occur during the winter months in Canada. The exhibition looks at twelve different holidays that are observed by diverse ethnocommunities in Ontario. It is our hope that this exhibition will promote understanding and respect of the varied and vibrant religious and cultural celebrations at this time of year.

Image: Since ancient times, people have used fire in winter celebrations, 
in order to brighten the long nights and to scare away evil spirits.

 

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Collection X- An Innovative Interactive Development Project

In May 2007 the Multicultural History Society of Ontario celebrated the public launch of Collection X - an innovative interactive development project, in partnership with the Art Gallery of Ontario, City of Toronto (Culture Division) and the Toronto District School Board.

Collection X is a fully interactive website that lets users to explore unique images, audio, and video from several Toronto institutions, and also allows them to contribute their own materials to this exciting open-source museum.

Colin Wiginton, the AGO’s manager of Community Programs says, “Collection X will give every user the chance to be both an artist and a curator, and to share his or her own stories.”

Collection X is funded by the Virtual Museum of Canada, an initiative of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

 

Image: Macedonian boarding house on Wellington Street West, Toronto in 1917 by Foto S. Tomev, oil on canvas, 1982. Multicultural History Society of Ontario- George Petroff Family Collection.

Treasured Memories, Family Stories - The MHSO's new 2007 school program

Treasured Memories, Family Stories is a heritage sharing school program focusing on the settlement experiences of 20th-century immigrants to Toronto. In the 2006/2007 school year, the program is being piloted with more than 150 grade 5-8 students in Toronto schools, and will be available on the internet next year. The students at E.A.S.T. Alternative School, Humewood Community School, Hilltop Middle School, and Valley Park Middle School conducted oral history interviews with their relatives in order to present and share their family histories with their teachers, peers, and communities. This project aims to help students understand their place in Ontario's history, to increase tolerance and understanding in a multicultural society, and to engage young people in the history-making process.  

This project was made possible through the generous support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation. 
Image: Students' final projects on display at the MHSO.

Legacies

The MHSO is honoured to host Legacies - a photographic exhibition celebrating the achievements and challenges of 24 Canadian immigrant women from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The exhibit will run from March 21st to March 31st 2007. The accompanying stories of these women are told by their Canadian granddaughters, in English, French, and the grandmother's first language.

Their countries of origin are: Afghanistan, Algeria, China, Denmark, England, Germany, Greece, Haiti, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Ukraine and Venezuela.

Gina Valle, the creator of this exhibition, first featured the stories of these women in her book, Our Grandmothers Ourselves: Reflections of Canadian Women. The book is the catalyst for the exhibit where insights into the immigrant life, the changing family in Canada, feminism, intergenerational relationships and aging are captured in print. 

For more information, please visit Gina Valle's website: http://www.ginavalle.com/pages/exhibit.html

Opening in 2006: The Hungarian Exodus

The 50^th Anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution will be commemorated in 2006. Following the Revolution over 40,000 Hungarian refugees/immigrants arrived in Canada, enriching this country's rich multicultural tapestry.

The Rakoczi Foundation, in partnership with the Multicultural History Society of Ontario, is launching an oral history project to collect, organize and preserve the personal stories and archival materials of these immigrants who came to Canada in 1956 and 1957 as a direct result of the Hungarian Revolution.

A national traveling exhibit will be created focusing on the immigration and settlement, lives and struggles of the Hungarian refugees. This exhibit will be displayed in 10 cities across Canada and in Budapest, Hungary. Visit the 1956 Memorial website to learn more about this exciting project and about how you can get involved.

Multicultural Canada Conference

Join us and the Multicultural Canada Digitization Project Partners on May 31 to June 2, 2006 at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia for the Multicultural Canada Conference.

The Conference will showcase Multicultural Canada, a consortium of university libraries and community groups led by Simon Fraser University. Multicultural Canada's aim is to provide online access to historical records along with the shared histories and experiences of the many cultural groups that have built and continue to build a vibrant Canada. The consortium uses the internet to provide greater learning, understanding and communication amongst and within these cultural groups.

Access the Conference Program online.

The Multicultural Canada Conference has been generously sponsored by Simon Fraser University, Library and Archives Canada, University of Victoria, University of Calgary, University of Toronto, CARL, Thomson Gale and EBSCO Canada Ltd.