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A Year of Resiliency

From left to right: Ingenium thanks front line workers (Ingenium), Trudeau takes a knee at anti-racism protest (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press), Jennifer Brunet-Rentechum of Indigenous Walks (Catherine Lindquist), Arnold Roberts first resident of a long-term care home in Ottawa to be immunized (Darren Brown), Daniel Richer at Heritage Day (Catherine Lindquist)

The world is solemnly marking the sombre milestone of the first year of this paralyzing pandemic.    For many, it is the most impactful global event of our lifetimes and shared history.  We mourn the too many lives lost – especially vulnerable elders and front line workers.  Facing forward, we must be better prepared and ever vigilant in our collective efforts to fend off such fearsome and unforgiving viral foes.

A year has now passed since many of our Members shuttered their doors following the arrival of COVID-19 in Canada.  And though many of those physical doors have since opened, closed, and opened again, the resiliency of our Heritage community has ensured that services, events, and programs have pivoted to reflect the changing landscape of living in the COVID-19 era.  We invite All to see how our Heritage community has shown strength with our online exhibition, Resiliency:  Our Stories.  We will continue to share this living archive of our Members’ resiliency weekly on our social media.

New programs such as our ConneX sessions surfaced to help navigate this constantly shifting landscape, and offered our Members a space to share challenges and solutions with each other.  Our annual events and programs continued, albeit in a virtual format.  Notably, we were pleased to be able to connect eight talented emerging professionals with established professionals in the Heritage sector through our Capital Heritage Mentorship Program.  And most recently, we enjoyed co-hosting Heritage Day 2021 and presenting an edu-taining interactive quiz.

While we take this time to look back and recognize the ingenuity of our Heritage community, we must also facilitate for our future directions.  Many of our Members, including Dickinson House Museum, Watson’s Mill, Bytown Museum, Fairbairn House Heritage Centre, and Osgoode Township Museum, have begun to post job opportunities for summer students.  Please share these with your connections.

Let’s continue to pivot and plan our path forward together.

Catherine Lindquist
Executive Director