Canada’s Youth History Award Recipients Share Inspiring Stories

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Young storytellers are critical to promoting a greater popular interest in our past. Through their unique lens, they share thought-provoking, creative, and engaging stories that contribute to a national conversation about Canadian history.

On January 19, 2020, the recipients of the Canada’s Youth History Awards journeyed to Ottawa to share their work and receive their awards. At a special ceremony in the Canadian History Hall at the Museum of Canadian History, we honoured and celebrated the wonderful work of these young people.

The first award presented was for the Kayak Kids’ Illustrated History Challenge. This competition asks students to choose any story from our past and to bring it to life with powerful writing and artwork.

Next, we recognized the recipients of the Indigenous Arts and Stories program. This is a program of Historica Canada that encourages Indigenous youth between the ages of 11 and 29 to explore an aspect of their heritage and culture through literary and visual arts.

Finally, we celebrated the winners of the 2019 Young Citizens program. These six young storytellers created videos exploring different aspects of Canada’s past. Since the Young Citizens program was launched in 2012, we have received over 1100 student videos, which can be found at YoungCitizens.ca.

The following day, the Canada’s Youth History Award recipients attended the Governor General’s History Awards at Rideau Hall. After hearing an inspiring message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, guests were invited to a reception and to ice skate on the historic outdoor rink.

The celebrations wrapped up at the History Makers Gala, which took place at the Canadian Museum of History. The youth recipients were invited on stage for a final round of applause and received a standing ovation from over 250 people in the audience. It was a powerful moment of recognition and praise for these incredible storytellers.

To all of the Canada’s Youth History Award recipients, thank you for sharing your work with us and thank you for your dedication and your desire to make history exciting for the next generation of Canadians.

Canada’s History is grateful to the Government of Canada, Canada Life, the McLean Foundation, and TD Bank Group for their generous support of these youth programs.