TORONTO, July 2, 2013 /CNW/ - Stephen Smith, Chairman of the Board of The Historica-Dominion Institute, announced today that effective September 3, 2013 , the organization will change its name to Historica Canada.
'The new bilingual name will clearly and concisely reflect our focus on building awareness of our history and the values of Canadian citizenship," said Mr. Smith. "These continuing priorities have formed our mandate since our two founding organizations, The Historica Foundation of Canada and The Dominion Institute, merged in 2009, and will continue to do so."
Based in Toronto with activities across the country, the organization's programs include the making of the popular Heritage Minutes - 60-second vignettes on Canadian History; The Memory Project, which provides audio, video and live platforms for the country's war veterans to relate their experiences; Passages to Canada, which gives newcomers to Canada a similar platform; the annual Aboriginal Writing and Arts Challenge; and Encounters with Canada, which brings more than 3,000 high school students from across Canada into Ottawa each year for a week of learning about their country. The organization is also presently building new interactive enhancements to its widely-used Canadian Encyclopedia, with those features slated to be unveiled this fall.
"The qualities of what it means to be Canadian are at the heart of everything we do," said Anthony Wilson-Smith, President of the organization. "So it seems logical that we reflect our pride and commitment to our country by including its name in our own."
The new name will not take formal effect until the fall in order to allow for legal and logistical steps to be completed. In the run-up to the change and beyond, the present phone numbers, e-mail addresses, website and overall contact points for the organization will remain the same.
Historica Canada, formerly The Historica-Dominion Institute, is the largest independent organization dedicated to history and citizenship in Canada. Its mandate is to build active and informed citizens through a greater knowledge and appreciation of the history, heritage and stories of Canada.
SOURCE: The Historica-Dominion Institute
Fadia Otariste
Communications Officer
416.506.1867 x 259
[email protected]
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