TORONTO – Thanks to a $1.5 million grant from the government of Canada, tens of thousands of students, community leaders and the public at large will learn about the historical events surrounding the Famine-Genocide of 1932-1933 in Ukraine, known as the Holodomor.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress on January 13 expressed thanks to the Canadian government, the Ministry of Multiculturalism and Minister Jason Kenney, for supporting a three-year grant for what has been dubbed the “Holodomor National Awareness Tour.”
The tour is a joint project of four organizations: the Canada Ukraine Foundation (CUF, the lead on the project), the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), the Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Center (UCRDC) and the Holodomor Research and Educational Consortium (HREC).
“This project will build bridges among communities to promote intercultural understanding, tolerance, awareness and a deeper respect for the democratic values that we Canadians hold so dear,” commented Bob Onyschuk, past chair of the CUF and project leader.
The tour takes places on a customized 42-foot RV (recreational vehicle), with a state-of-the-art interactive audio-visual technology center on board. The RV will be wheelchair accessible and will tour Canada, visiting elementary and secondary schools, universities, government buildings, Ukrainian community and Canadian mainstream events, and festivals and gatherings across the country.
The goal of the awareness tour is to educate all Canadians about the genocidal famine created by Joseph Stalin in 1932-1933, murdering millions of Ukrainians and others.
“The Holodomor is one of the greatest crimes against humanity,” said Prof. Jurij Darewych, chair of the UCRDC. “Yet, despite its being recognized as genocide by the Parliament of Canada, knowledge about this tragedy is not as widespread as it ought to be. The Holodomor National Awareness Tour will be an important tool in informing and reminding Canadians of this horrible example of man’s inhumanity to man.”
Similar mobile education tours in Canada have included the “Tour for Humanity,” organized by the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies; and “It›s an Honor,” organized by the Rideau Hall Foundation, highlighting Canada›s National Honors Program, including the roles of the governor general and the queen.
“We must never waiver in our commitment to the memory of the millions of victims of Stalin›s campaign of terror and the deliberate attempt to destroy the Ukrainian nation,” said UCC National President Paul Grod. “Projects like this ensure that no one ever forgets, and that crimes like this never happen again.”
This project will operate as a teaching module for elementary and high school students, teaching the values of multiculturalism, diversity, and the importance of human rights and freedoms, the rule of law and respect for human dignity. It will also present the concept of crimes against humanity and genocide as seen through the lens of the Holodomor.
The concept design for the project was developed by Dimension and Design Inc. (Denny Dzerowicz, CEO) and by TAG (The Alphaform Group) CEO Peter Trecapelli, whose firm built the aforementioned “Tour for Humanity” and “It’s An Honor” mobile tours. Between these two firms, there are over 85 years of experience in major exhibitions.