BURNABY, British Columbia, February 20, 2008 - On behalf of the Honourable Josée Verner, Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages, Jim Abbott, Parliamentary Secretary for Canadian Heritage and Member of Parliament (Kootenay-Columbia) today announced funding for the Simon Fraser University Library.
Funding of $499,975 will be dedicated to a website project that will help preserve and promote awareness of Canada's culture, history, and heritage.
"The Government of Canada is pleased to support this project, which highlights our country's rich cultural heritage, our innovative spirit, and our creativity," said Minister Verner. "This website will allow people of all ages to explore different periods of our history, as well as to better understand the invaluable contribution of ethno-cultural communities to building the Canada we know today."
"I am very pleased to announce funding for this project, which demonstrates the important role that Simon Fraser University plays in fostering innovation and sharing information throughout Canada," added Mr. Abbott. "By working together to bring this innovative project to life, we are helping Canadian and international visitors to the Web learn more about the creative, diverse, and modern character of Canadian society."
"We are extremely pleased that the Government of Canada is supporting this initiative to digitize unique, historical materials from multicultural groups," said Lynn Copeland, Librarian at Simon Fraser University. "By preserving these materials and making them available online, we will help citizens better understand and appreciate the multifaceted heritage of their country and the world that we are part of today."
This project on the study and exploration of Canadian multiculturalism involves upgrading the Multicultural Canada website by digitizing various documents that record the contribution of different ethnocultural communities to Canadian society. Among other things, the website will bring together documents, newspapers, and sound clips currently scattered throughout different libraries and archive services. The site will be a unique source of information on the history of the Chinese, Ukrainian, German, Hungarian, Vietnamese, and Indo-Canadian communities in Canada. Information will be provided in English and French and in the language of each community.
The Government of Canada is providing this funding through the Partnerships Fund of the Canadian Culture Online strategy of the Department of Canadian Heritage. The strategy, which encourages a Canadian presence on the Web, helps creators, cultural industries, communities, and institutions produce and post online Canadian works to promote our country's rich culture, arts, history, and heritage.
Information:
Dominic Gosselin
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage,
Status of Women and Official Languages
819 997-7788
Donald Boulanger
A/Chief, Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819 994 9101
