PK75: The Anthology Project
An Anthology of Personal Peacekeeping Experiences
The year 2023 will mark two peacekeeping milestones — the 75th anniversary of the first United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operation (UNTSO), and the 35th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize for UN Peacekeepers. Both anniversaries offer an ideal opportunity to recognize and celebrate Canada’s amazing contributions to world peace, and especially the personal contributions of the thousands of Canadians who participated in peacekeeping operations around the globe.
The Project
To that end, the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association (CPVA) is developing an Anthology of the personal experiences of representative Canadian peacekeepers. It will focus on Canada’s historic contributions to peacekeeping through the eyes of individual Canadian peacekeepers and those who have significantly impacted and enabled their efforts.
Although the Anthology is not due to be finalized until 2023, we will provide a sampling or ‘mini-Anthology’ within each upcoming issue of
The Blue Beret. You can also access all currently available portions of the Anthology here, as each section becomes available.
The Anthology will be a quality digital publication containing short biographies, photographs and experiential anecdotes written by, or about, ordinary Canadians with peacekeeping experience, whether they be military, police, or civilian. We are also including folks who helped set the environment for peacekeeping success, without ever completing a mission themselves, whether it be working within Foreign Affairs or at NDHQ, or on theatre activation teams, or in supporting roles but outside the UN, MFO, NATO, or AU construct. Many of their contributions had a huge impact on peacekeeping, and their stories deserve to be recognized.
To be completed in early 2023, the anthology will be distributed freely with the intent to educate young people as well as to enhance public awareness of Canada’s longstanding contribution to peacekeeping. As such, schools and universities will be key target audiences and recipients of the anthology, as will institutions, media outlets, government Departments, military and police organizations, relevant humanitarian organizations, public figures of influence, and industries with a connection to peacekeeping.