Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you very much for the invitation to appear before you this morning. My name is James Whitham. I'm the acting director general of the Canadian War Museum and vice-president of the corporation of CMC.
Joining me in the presentation is Yasmine Mingay, the manager of communications for the War Museum, who also deals with programs and events at the museum and with social media.
It is a pleasure to be here today to give you a brief overview of the war museum's plans for the coming years, with a specific focus on the anniversaries of two key conflicts in Canadian military history: the War of 1812 and the First World War.
The Canadian War Museum is Canada's national museum of military history. It acquires and maintains relevant artifacts for its unparalleled national collection and disseminates knowledge through research, exhibitions, and public programs. The museum is a venue and facilitator for informed discussions on military history. That is our mandate.
Our mission is to promote public understanding of Canada's military history in terms of its personal, national, and international dimensions. In other words, we look at how war affects Canadians as individuals, how it shapes our country, and how in times of war Canadians have affected the course of world events. We do this through exhibitions, events, programs, and partnerships. Although our mandate is not one of commemoration, many of our projects and initiatives are intertwined with the commemoration of important dates and events in Canadian military history. The bicentennial commemoration of the War of 1812 and the centenary of the First World War are two such examples.