(formerly the Canadian War Museum History Awards)
The Canadian War Museum is dedicated to the study of Canadian military history and the effects of war upon Canada and its people. The Museum also recognizes the need to assist students who plan to continue their studies in the field of history. The Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards have been instituted to support and encourage these students.
The Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards are financially supported by the Friends of the Canadian War Museum.
Download the application form (PDF file, 136 Kb)
Value of the Awards
The total value of the Awards consists of five prizes of $1000 each, to be distributed to five winning students.
Criteria for admission
Application for the Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards is open to all senior students who plan on graduating from secondary school in the spring of 2010. To qualify, each student must submit an original work using one of the following media:
- Text
- Visual Art
- Web Design
- Audio or Video Production
In addition, each student must include a completed application form (attached).
Please do NOT include extra material such as transcripts, letters of recommendation, news clippings or résumés.
Deadline
Completed applications must be postmarked and mailed no later than March 31, 2010. Late applications and applications that do not provide all the requested material will not be reviewed. Faxed or e-mailed applications will not be considered.
Theme
Every year, the Canadian War Museum selects a theme on which students must base their work. For 2010, students are to produce a work on the following theme:
PEACE:
Your original work in this year’s competition should explore a theme related to peace or peace advocacy in Canadian history.
There are many ways to approach the topic of peace, but no single or universally accepted definition of it. The common understanding of what peace means has also changed over time. Is it simply the absence of war or armed conflict, or does it include broader concepts of social justice – the equal distribution of rights and protections, or opportunities and resources, between people and societies? Canadians’ views on how to attain peace, and how to keep it, are just as diverse.
Your submission might examine an historical person, event, or organization, for example, or how Canada as a whole has pursued or advocated peace. You could compare differing opinions on the same topic, like cruise missile testing or participation in the First World War, or assess an idea or concept, such as disarmament or peacekeeping, as it has evolved over time. Have wars been fought in the name of peace? Has peace always been a good thing? What have soldiers said – and done – to support peace? What about politicians? Or people who oppose all wars from principle or religious conviction?
The Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards are financially supported by the Friends of the Canadian War Museum.
Guidelines
Submissions may use one of the media listed below:
- Text (i.e. essay, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, journalism)
- Visual Art (i.e. photography, drawing, painting, 3-D elements)
- Web Design (i.e. text, images, graphics, animations)
- Audio or Video Productions (i.e. songs, documentaries, commentaries, films)
- Text
- Must be written either in English or in French, to a maximum of 2000 words.
- Students must include 4 copies of their written assignment.
- Visual Art
- Students may employ any two- or three-dimensional media.
- Students must submit their original work and 4 copies of an abstract explaining their work and the materials used in a minimum of 250 words.
- Web Design
- Text elements on the Web site must be written either in English or in French.
- Students must ensure that the Web site is fully accessible as of 31 March, 2010.
- Students must submit 4 copies of each page/screen from their Web site.
- Audio or Video Production
- Productions must be in English or French (using subtitles or translations where necessary) and must not exceed 10 minutes in length.
- Students must submit 4 copies of the transcript of their production.
- Audio productions may be submitted either on cassette tape or CD.
- Video productions may be submitted either on VHS cassette, DVD or CD-Rom.
Sending your application
Send your original work and a completed application form to:
Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards
1 Vimy Place
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0M8
Review Criteria
Submissions will be reviewed by a multi-disciplinary Canadian War Museum committee based on creativity, scholarship, critical thinking, relevance and the ability to communicate a clear message. Of the entries submitted, the committee may select up to five winners, each of whom will receive $1000. The committee reserves the right of final decision.
Notification to students
All candidates will be notified of the committee's decision by the end of May 2010. Submissions, whether successful or not, will not be returned. Winning submissions become the exclusive property of the Canadian War Museum.
Award payment
Every effort will be made to formally present awards at each successful student's graduation ceremony (if applicable). Failing this, awards will be sent directly to the successful student's current address.
In addition to receiving a monetary award, winning students will have their names appear on a special display inside the Canadian War Museum and have their original works posted on the Museum's Web site.
Last year’s winners
Last year, applicants of the 2009 Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards were asked to submit an original work considering “The Battle of the Plains of Abraham”.
Of the entries submitted by students from across Canada, four were retained as winners:
Ryan Thomas Hartigan
Prince Andrew High School
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Category: Audio-Visual
An Angel Without Wings Isn’t Apt To Fly
MP3
Lauren Hearty
North Surrey Secondary
Surrey, British Columbia
Category: text
A Day on the Plains
Lindsay Logie
Millwood High School
Sackville, Nova Scotia
Category: text
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham Lives On
Meghan Ross
Vernon Secondary School
Vernon, British Columbia
Category: text
Remembering les Plaines D’Abraham
Inquiries
For any inquiries about the Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards, students can either email us at: education@warmuseum.ca or call us at (819) 776-8694 and leave their name, a brief message and phone number.
