BY JAMIE SWIFT, JPIC DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER OF PEACEQUEST
Just as the schools let out, marking the real start of summer, PeaceQuest held an event in front of City Hall. It was the official announcement of our November Gathering and concert. We got the news out moments before the skies opened up.
City Councillor Jeff McLaren, whose Meadowbrook-Strathcona district includes the Providence Motherhouse, was there in support of PeaceQuest. And, in particular, to explain how the City of Kingston is actively considering a plan – sponsored by The World Remembers – to project the names of the 1918 war dead onto the exterior of City Hall. Not just the Canadian and allied soldiers killed, but the names of the dead on both sides.
The World Remembers project, like PeaceQuest, seeks to commemorate the battles of World War I by emphasizing the profound tragedy of the war. We call this a “post-patriotic” approach to remembrance. If we just talk about valour and glory and battles, it can gloss over the terrible carnage that two contending empires visited upon so many.