Vancouver, BC — Forty budding teenage journalists or videographers from across Canada will have the opportunity to cover history in the making at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games through a new program called Historica-Dominion at the Games. 

To nab their spot at the Games, teens aged 16- to 18-years-old are invited to enter competitions — two national (one creative writing-based and one video-based) and/or a regional essay competition aimed at Vancouver students — describing why they should have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Competition submissions can be made at www.fyicanada.ca starting today.

The competitions are part of a collaborative project between the newly formed Historica-Dominion Institute, which is dedicated to creating greater knowledge and appreciation of Canadian history, identity and citizenship, and /EDU, the online Canadian school portal for the Games created by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).

“Engaging Canada’s next generation of young storytellers in the 2010 Winter Games and seeing and reading their unique perspectives on history unfolding before their eyes is the driving force behind our partnership with the Historica-Dominion Institute on this innovative project,” said Burke Taylor, VANOC’s vice president of culture, celebration and education programs.

“These Games are about creating lasting legacies for Canada and what better way to do that than to involve our youth, put them right in the centre of the action and provide them with a creative outlet to share their experiences with others?” he continued. “This will be something they will always look back on with pride and a sense of accomplishment.”

The 40 competition winners will attend sporting and cultural events, such as hockey, figure skating and nightly Victory Ceremonies, during either the first week of the Olympic Winter Games in February or the Paralympic Winter Games in March. Their tickets will be provided through VANOC’s previously publicized ticket program for those who might not have the means to attend Games events.  After attending these events, they will record and write daily about their own personal experiences at the Games and will also have the chance to interview retired Olympian and Paralympian stars, artists and Games’ officials.

Their best video diaries and articles will be shared with the entire world — live from Vancouver and Whistler — at www.fyicanada.ca and www.vancouver2010.com/edu from February 10 to 17, 2010 and March 10 to 17, 2010.

“We’re pleased to partner with VANOC through the Historica-Dominion at the Games initiative,” said Avie Bennett, chairman of the Historica-Dominion Institute. “This partnership allows us to bring youth from across Canada together in Vancouver and Whistler to experience and chronicle history in the making at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. This is a remarkable opportunity for these young people to connect with each other, to learn about our country through each other and to experience Canada’s sporting present, while learning about its impressive past.”

Eight students from across Canada will be chosen, along with 26 from Metro Vancouver, as well as six students with disabilities, who will be selected through criteria set by 2010 Legacies Now, a British Columbia-based not-for-profit society that is partnering on the project. Competition winners will be announced in late October. Each of the competitions will be judged by a separate panel.

The 40 participants will be required to pay a registration fee of $625 to cover their meals, local transportation and other costs during their week at the Games. Some students will take part in a homestay program where students from other regions will stay with those located in Metro Vancouver. Students from areas outside British Columbia will have their transportation to the Games region provided by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage.

For more information on Historica-Dominion at the Games, visit www.fyicanada.ca and www.vancouver2010.com/edu. At /EDU teachers can also find Games-related resources related to school curricula and share with the world the innovative projects happening in their classrooms on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

About The Historica-Dominion Institute

The Historica-Dominion Institute is a national charitable organization that was launched on September 1, 2009 through the amalgamation of two existing organizations: The Historica Foundation of Canada and The Dominion Institute. Its mandate is to build active and informed citizens through a greater knowledge and appreciation of the history, heritage and stories of Canada. Some of its signature programs include: Encounters with Canada (Canada’s largest youth forum), FYICanada.ca (a social networking site aimed at youth) and the Canadian Encyclopedia (the official resource of the Historica-Dominion at the Games project). You are invited to discover The Historica-Dominion Institute at www.historica-dominion.ca.

About VANOC

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.

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