Metro Vancouver’s Migration Museum is set to be built to highlight Canada’s diverse immigrant groups, particularly those who came through western portals. It will complement Pier 21, Canada’s national museum of immigration located in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Focus will be on Canadians from China, Japan, India, Philippines and other parts of Asia who did not arrive at Pier 21 and cross the country, but came in through the West Coast.
“We need a national centre – a hub of digital learning -located in Pacific Canada to recognize a history and future for our nation that Pier 21 cannot alone represent,” said Henry Yu, principal at St. John’s College, UBC.
As a first step, the Pacific Canada Heritage Centre — Museum of Migration (PCHC-MoM) Society will hold an inaugural symposium among partners, community leaders and academics to discuss ways of bringing the shared migration experience to Canadians and others.
The PCHC aims to build a wider and deeper appreciation of Canada’s history and growth through intercultural explorations of trans-Pacific immigrations. Its Museum of Migration project, a prelude to the creation of a permanent centre in the B.C. Lower Mainland, “will begin as a virtual entity rather than a collection of artifacts,” according to Lynn Copeland, a member of PCHC board of directors.
With this long-term goal in mind, a symposium will be held on September 27, 2013, at the CCC Museum (555 Columbia St., Chinatown, Vancouver) from noon to 4:30 p.m., and will include poster sessions for ethnic and museum communities, presentations and round-table discussions on the lives of immigrants and their families.
The agenda will be highly interactive and will include representatives from ethnic communities, universities, museums and government and other potential partners in the initiative. Participants will likewise strategize on how to move the project forward.
The media and the public are invited to this milestone event. Please contact Mary Ann Mandap (604-266-3611) or send her an email at pchc.media@gmail.com for further information or to set up interviews with the organizers. South Asian Media can contact Mary Ann or Harbhajan S Gill @ komagatamaru@hotmail.com ( 604-763-1736)