Endorsements
Defining Moments Canada is proud to work with Canadian and international experts in a range of fields.
“Canada’s Finest Hour: VEDay75 – Normandy to Netherlands documents and shares resources with all Canadians about the important role of the Canadian fighting forces and the crucial role they played in liberating the oppressed people of Europe in the final year of the Second World War. Students can examine primary source material, aided by contextualizing historical commentary, and better come to grips with the complexities of history. With contributors from multiple disciplines, including historians, educators and museologists, and with text and interpretation written and shaped by Dr. Michael Bechthold, this is an accessible product underpinned by proven expertise. Aimed at giving teachers and students the tools to think critically about Canada’s war experience, the service and sacrifice, the heroics and the grief, this educational product fills an important gap, and will help share these critical stories in the 75th anniversary of victory in that necessary war. “
Tim Cook, CM, FRSC, Ph.D, author of the three-volume history of Canada’s Second World War experience:The Necessary War (2014), Fight to the Finish (2015), and The Fight for History (2020).
Contributing to Defining Moments Canada was an absolute honour – it was an amazing experience to work with their team to develop content to engage students and the public across Canada. Their team of contributing scholars were the top scholars in the field, transforming complex scientific and historical data into clear narratives accessible to a broad audience, highlighting primary sources and different perspectives, which is what writing history is all about!
Dr. Kandace Bogaert, Adjunct Professor of History, Wilfrid Laurier University
When Neil Orford asked me, as a historian of the 1918-19 influenza pandemic, to write for Defining Moments Canada about arching the corona virus pandemic, I was delighted to oblige. As a social historian of disease, I’ve watched from across the Atlantic (I’m based in Ireland) as this organisation did ground breaking work crowdsourcing material on the 1918-19 pandemic, and getting research specialists in the field to contribute their knowledge to help the interpretation of the material collected from the wider Canadian community. This work is inspirational – every nation could consider a similar idea to develop resources for understanding important and previously neglected aspects of our social history, and particularly our health history. Now, Defining Moments Canada begins a new project to explore the history of insulin; diabetes is one of the major health challenges in the modern world, and no doubt this project will be beneficial in helping to understand its history.
Dr Ida Milne, social historian of disease, Carlow College, and visiting research fellow, Trinity College Dublin Department of History.
In the field of education there are numerous organizations developing materials to support various issues and to promote worthwhile causes. Where Defining Moments Canada stands head and shoulders above the field is in their deep commitment to offering a rich engaging and empowering alternative for how students “do’, think and learn about History. Perhaps even more significant is how they are helping students to see that History is as much a subject about how students can positively shape the future, as it is about the past. The two dominant reasons that make working with Defining Moments Canada a sheer joy is their new vision for History learning and the personnel that make up the team. It is rare to work with individuals such as Neil Orford and Jenifer Terry who combine passion with a true zest for engaging in genuinely collaborative thinking. Each project we have worked on with Defining Moments has pushed our thinking, excited the educators in us, and helped us to forge strong relationships. Defining Moments Canada is a rare gem of an organization that makes it an intellectually and pedagogically rewarding partner in designing for innovative learning.
Garfield Gini-Newman, Associate professor University of Toronto and senior national consultant with The Critical Thinking Consortium
Laura Gini-Newman, Senior math consultant with The Critical Thinking Consortium
Interested in working with us? Reach out to Project Lead Neil Orford or Executive Director Jen Terry, and check our News section for current Calls for Stories.