UBC Library's Joan Gillis Fonds is added to the Canadian Commission for UNESCO's Canada Memory of the World Register Français
OTTAWA, ON, July 26, 2022 /CNW/ - The University of British Columbia (UBC) Library's Joan Gillis fonds has been added to the Canadian Commission for UNESCO's (CCUNESCO) Canada Memory of the World Register.
The Joan Gillis fonds includes 149 letters and 10 photographs from 13 different correspondents: all Japanese Canadian youth who had been transported to internment camps and farms during the Second World War. The teenagers wrote the letters to their friend and acquaintance Joan Gillis, a student at Queen Elizabeth Secondary School in Surrey, British Columbia, between 1942 to 1946. Their correspondence offers a unique, youthful perspective on the war, shedding light on the internment of Japanese Canadians and providing an exceptional insight into day-to-day life in farms and working camps in Manitoba and Alberta. Joan Gillis, who later became a teacher herself, kept the correspondence throughout her life, donating the letters to UBC a year before her death in 2019, age 91.
The Canada Memory of the World Register includes various heritage items, collections and other documentary works of historical significance that reflect the diversity of Canada's documentary heritage. The Joan Gillis fonds are the second collection from UBC Library to be added to the Register, following the inclusion of the Wallace B. Chung and Madeline H. Chung Collection in 2019. Selections from the fonds can be explored online through I Know We'll Meet Again, which features photographs and letters from the collection.
"Ms. Gillis kept the letters safe a lifetime, before entrusting their care to the university. The letters capacity to help understand the lived experience of the writers, and the impact of events on their lives is immeasurable. The designation of the letters into Canada's Memory of the World register will ensure their story is never forgotten." – Krisztina Laszlo, Archivist at UBC Library
"These letters offer unique insights into how a group of young Japanese Canadian people navigated circumstances they had not chosen and sought to make sense of their changing everyday lives through a long-distance friendship. Their letters survive today as testimony to the power of their creativity, humour, diversity, and vitality in a challenging time that changed their community, and their country, forever." – Dr. Laura Ishiguro, Associate Professor in Department of History at UBC
"CCUNESCO is delighted to include the Joan Gillis fonds in the Canada Memory of the World Register. We are confident their inclusion will broaden awareness of the injustices faced by Japanese Canadians and expand our understanding of the personal impacts on youth." – Roda Muse, Secretary General of CCUNESCO
Created in 2017, the Canadian Memory of the World Register brings together significant collections linked to the history and heritage of Canada. It compliments UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme, which includes diverse collections of global importance.
The Canada Memory of the World Register provides universal access to our artistic, cultural, economic, geographic, linguistic, political, scientific, spiritual and identity-based heritage. It also highlights the importance of making these unique collections accessible to students, researchers and the general public.
The Canadian Advisory Committee for Memory of the World is made up of experts who review nominations and make recommendations to CCUNESCO on which collections should be included in the Canada Memory of the World Register.
The Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCUNESCO) serves as a bridge between Canadians and the vital work of UNESCO—the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Through its networks and partners, the Commission promotes UNESCO's values, priorities and programs in Canada and brings the voices of Canadian experts to the international stage. CCUNESCO operates under the authority of the Canada Council for the Arts.
The University of British Columbia (UBC) Library is the second largest research library system in Canada and has more than 20 branches and divisions, including on- and off- campus locations, and the UBC Okanagan Library. With more than eight million items in its digital and print collections, the Library is a vital support for research, learning and teaching excellence at UBC.
SOURCE Canadian Commission for UNESCO
Vanessa Poulin-Gladu, Public Affairs Manager, Canadian Commission for UNESCO, [email protected], 613-862-1637
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