A centennial remembrance provides us with the rare opportunity of perspective - it gives us a chance to look back, and re-assess a particular era with the added benefit of time.
One hundred years have passed - and in this last year of Centennial Remembrance, we can now stop and look back at a global conflict, with the knowledge and understanding of the long lasting impacts that shaped the world we live in today.
After a hundred years, we have a much more nuanced view and, with the release of censored government documentation over the years, a better understanding of the difficulties the First World War General’s faced in the unprecedented circumstances of an industrialized conflict. As we move through the centenary years towards 2018, we will think of remembrance - not as a gathering at the local church, school or local war memorial, but as an event in history with a much broader context - for the war was so much bigger than what we recall from our history books. In these centenary years, Canadians can look forward to a varied and colourful program of commemorations, each enriching the debate and leading to new perspectives throughout the destinations across the preserved battlefields of the First World War.
For travellers taking the journey to the battlefields for centennial remembrances - embrace the opportunity to celebrate the reconciliation of two countries that were fighting each other then, but are at peace together today. There are so many more exciting ways to mark the centennial - find out more at: www.centenarynews.com // www.thebattlefieldtours.com
Other Projects & Events Honouring 100 Years
The Name List The Name List Project, launched by The In Flanders Fields Museum, features a daily projection of all the names of those who had died on the date marking 100 years since their death on Belgian soil. The Names List Project will provide a day-to-day overview of the deaths occurring up until the end of 2018. A website was also launched to allow people from all over the world to look up their relatives - offering the possibility to fill in any missing details. www.inflandersfields.be
The Brussels Expo 14-18 The Royal Army Museum in Brussels is organizing a major exhibit entitled ’14-18, It’s Our History!’. The exhibit will host a display of various original objects as well as personal accounts, multimedia, and films exploring the First World War. www.expo14-18.be
Coming World Remember Me
One of the most ambitious projects Europe has taken on is currently curated by Jan Moeyaert and Koen Vanmechelen. Over the next four years, people from all corners of the world will work together to create 600,000 clay sculptures, each one marking and representing a life lost in the Belgian theatre in the Great War. In 2018, the New Generation statues will line the grounds of the Palingbeek domain close to Ypres, as part of a unique retrospective that faces our shared future. www.cwrm.be/en
The WW1 Colourization Project The Vimy Foundation is marking 100 years with their ambitious colourization project - to colourize 100 photos from the First World War. www.vimyfoundation.ca/learn/ww1-colourization-project/
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