Faculty of ArtProvince of BC and City of Vancouver Announce Commitment to Chinatown UNESCO Application
On September 17, 2018, the Premier of BC, John Horgan, and the Mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) committing the Province to work with Vancouver on obtaining UNESCO World Heritage status for Vancouver Chinatown. In conjunction, work towards the building of a museum in Chinatown that would tell the stories of Chinese Canadian history.
Speakers at the MOU announcement event included Minister George Chow (MC), Elder Larry Grant of Musqueam, Premier John Horgan, Mayor Gregor Robertson, and His Honour Judge Bill Yee (the first Chinese Canadian elected to Vancouver City Council and former Provincial Court judge). Also among them was Sarah Ling, President of the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC and member of UBC Chinatown. To read a copy of Sarah’s speech, click here.
UBC Arts Undergraduate Research Spotlight: Exploring the Heritage of Chinese Migration
“Twenty UBC students travelled to China this summer to participate in a UBC Global Seminar exploring the heritage of Chinese migration. Now, the students are bringing their research home to share with local heritage organizations and communities.”
Click here to read the full article.
UBC and Burnaby Village Museum Partnership
We are so thankful that over the summer of 2018, students of ACAM 390 were given the opportunity to gain mentorship and skills through our community partnership with the Burnaby Village Museum. After their return from Hong Kong and Kaiping, China, 5 students were given summer work placements and helped to host a community showcase for their market garden at the end of summer.
For more information about the partnership, please visit:
http://www.burnabyvillagemuseum.ca/EN/meta/whats-new/2018-archive/innovative-partnership.html
Original ACAM post: https://acam.arts.ubc.ca/23012-2/
Mission Statement
For over 200 years, migrants of Chinese heritage have travelled to Canada, particularly British Columbia, to live, to work, and to raise their families. They have come at different times and from different places in China and throughout the Pacific region. Many have called a variety of places home before coming to Canada, but once here, they formed vibrant communities that have significantly shaped Canadian society. Until now, however, there has never been a program at any Canadian university dedicated to teaching classes and conducting research focused on this important part of our collective Canadian history.
INSTRCC (Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian studies) was created to engage and empower students to conduct crucial and groundbreaking community-based research in Asian Canadian history relevant to the Asian Canadian community. In addition, INSTRCC seeks to give a voice to the stories and histories of Asian Canadians, their families, and their communities so future generations of Canadians and Asian Canadians will be aware of the rich and complex stories that make up integral aspects of Canadian history and identity. To achieve these aims, students are encouraged to use the latest digital technologies to distribute and create informative and engaging films, oral histories, family stories, websites, and databases that anyone can easily access to learn about the importance of Asian Canadians in Canada. Students have the opportunity to engage with what becomes, with every new project, an increasingly rich and complex history; to see that their stories are becoming officially recognized after having been overlooked for so long. INSTRCC students are connected to life experiences that make learning real.