TORONTO – The Holodomor Mobile Classroom (HMC) is officially on the road, spreading awareness about the man-made Famine of 1932-1933 in which millions of Ukrainians were starved to death.
The HMC visited six Ontario high schools and three Ukrainian Saturday schools in March and April, reaching more than 650 students with up to four lessons per day being given in the HMC.
Mark Melnyk, the department head of history for the York Region District School Board, called it “one of the coolest, most immersive learning experiences we have been fortunate to share with our students,” adding that “its use of state-of-the-art technology is captivating for a generation of students that are often hard to impress.”
The HMC has visited Weston Collegiate in Toronto, Markville Secondary in Markham, North Park Secondary in Brampton, North Albion Collegiate in Toronto, Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School in Sudbury, and O’Gorman High School in Timmins. Ukrainian Saturday school students at the Yuri Lypa, Hryhorij Skovoroda and Tsiopa Palijiw schools have also benefited from visits of the HMC. In addition, Ontario Ministry of Education staff in Toronto have had an opportunity to experience the HMC.
The bus makes for a striking sight as it rolls down the highway and pulls up at high schools. The words “Holodomor – The Ukrainian Genocide” are emblazoned across its 40-foot length on a background of blue sky and wheat fields.
The HMC is the centerpiece of the Holodomor National Awareness Tour, a project of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, developed in partnership with the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium (HREC), the Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Center and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. The project is funded through a $1.5 million grant from the Canadian federal government, $750,000 from the Ontario provincial government, as well as a contribution from the government of Manitoba and private donations.
The Holodomor Mobile Classroom’s message on the back of the specially equipped vehicle.
An hour-long interactive lesson for the HMC was developed by Valentina Kuryliw, director of education for HREC, who has more than 30 years of experience teaching history. Students learn to investigate sources and analyze artifacts such as documents, photos, newspaper articles, letters and survivor accounts through material loaded on individual iPads and displayed on a 28-foot video wall. The HMC experience underscores the consequences of hate, oppression and discrimination, and the importance of tolerance, human rights and the rule of law.
The HMC can accommodate up to 33 visitors at a time. It is also visiting community and public gatherings such as festivals and fairs. About 420 members of the general public have boarded the HMC at events such as the unveiling of the Holodomor Memorial in Washington, the Toronto and Ottawa ribbon-cutting of the Holodomor National Awareness Tour project at Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill, and at the Holodomor Commemoration Ceremony at St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Mississauga, Ontario. The HMC will take part in the Ukrainian pavilion (St. Mary’s Ukrainian Church, 3625 Cawthra Road, Mississauga) during the Carassauga Festival in Mississauga at the end of May and will visit Ottawa and Oshawa before a swing to Dauphin in Manitoba and Western Canadian provinces this summer.
To arrange a visit of the HMC, readers may contact the Holodomor National Awareness Tour at 416-966-9800, [email protected] or via the tour website, www.holodomortour.ca.
Holodomor National Awareness Tour Fact Sheet
The Holodomor National Awareness Tour is a project to raise awareness of the Holodomor, the genocidal famine carried out in 1932-1933 by the Soviet Union led by Joseph Stalin, which resulted in the deaths of millions of Ukrainians.
The centerpiece is the Holodomor Mobile Classroom (HMC), a 40-foot RV customized to educate and engage students and the public about the Holodomor. In this state-of-the-art learning space, visitors will: learn about the Holodomor through digital media; appreciate how history shapes our world today; become inspired by personal stories of Holodomor survivors; and leave empowered to protect Canadian values of freedom and democracy.
Students participate in a 60-minute, facilitator-led educational experience featuring audio-visual presentations on a 28-foot video wall and complementary learning activities on tablets. Lessons underscore the importance of multiculturalism, human rights and the rule of law, as well as the concept of genocide.
The HMC will travel to small towns and large cities, visiting schools and community centers, and participate in special events across the country.
About the Holodomor Mobile Classroom:
• The HMC accommodates up to 34 visitors at a time.
• The HMC features interactive lessons that build students’ critical thinking skills and encourage social responsibility.
• The Province of Ontario has committed $750,000 to bring the Holodomor learning experience to publicly funded schools throughout the province.
• The government of Canada has pledged a three-year grant valued at $1.5 million to ensure access for students and all Canadians across the country.
• The HMC is modeled on the Canadian governor general’s traveling exhibit “It’s an Honor,” focused on Canada’s national honors and the Canadians who receive them.
• The HMC debuted in the Toronto Ukrainian Festival parade in September 2015 and traveled to the Holodomor Memorial dedication in Washington in November of that year.