(The Canadian War Museum History Awards for students graduating from secondary school)
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, 214 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 2013. 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 April 15, 2013. 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 2013, students are to produce a work on the following theme:
Canada and The Korean War
July 27, 2013 marks the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War. Between 1950 and 1953, more than 30,000 Canadians fought with the United Nations Command to defend South Korea against attacks from North Korean and Chinese forces. Five hundred and sixteen Canadians died during the Korean War, and many more were injured.
Your original work for this year’s competition should explore a theme related to Canada and the Korean War. You might examine a historical person, event, or organization, or you might offer a more general or more personal overview. You could explore famous Canadian battles, examine Canada’s reasons for supporting the United Nations effort, or interview a veteran of the war. You may wish to look at the war’s legacy in Canada, efforts to commemorate the war’s casualties and veterans, or the connections between your family, your school, or your community and the war. Why is the Korean War sometimes called “The Forgotten War”? How have Canadians sought to preserve peace in Korea since the end of the war?
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)
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 April 15, 2013.
- Students must submit 4 copies of each page/screen from their Web site.
4. 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 must be submitted on CD.
- Video productions may be submitted either on DVD or CD-Rom.
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 early June 2013. 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 original works posted on the Museum’s Web site. Works may need to be edited to respect the Canadian War Museum’s publishing policies.
Recipients of the 2012 Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards
In 2012, applicants of the Colonel Douglas H. Gunter History Awards were asked to submit an original work considering “The War of 1812″.
Of the entries submitted by students from across Canada, five were retained as winners:
Nicholas Avis
St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School
Goderich, Ontario
Category: Web design
http://privateers.moonfruit.com/ (website)
Olivia Dziwak
Cawthra Park Secondary School
Mississauga, Ontario
Category: Text
Manitoba Horizon (fiction)
Mark Ferguson
Ponoka Composite High School
Ponoka, Alberta
Category: Audio Visual Production
The War of 1812 (music video)
Graeme McKinnon-Nestman
Citadel High School
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Category: Text
Unlikely Neighbors (poem)
Yuhao Wu
Walter Murray Collegiate
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Category: Text
War of 1812: The Conflict and its Effects on Canada and North America (Essay)
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) 776-8617 and leave their name, a brief message and phone number.
