There are many ways we can celebrate New Year’s Eve.
Toronto author and illustrator Evan Munday has toasted the end of 2017 in a most unique way – by posting an original colour sketch of celebrated humanitarian, Lotta Hitschmanova, in her distinctive green uniform.
Munday saved Lotta for his final drawing of the year in this remarkable #365Canadians project. Bravo!
David Rain
A recent Ottawa Citizen column re-ignited a debate about what to do with Canada’s first pedestrian mall on Sparks Street. Here is my response:
As someone who worked on Sparks Street for two decades, I have followed with some interest the debate on whether this street can be “saved” or not. Continue reading
World Refugee Day
(June 20) has been established to help commemorate the strength, courage and perseverance of millions of refugees around the world.
In 1942, a young Czech woman arrived in Montreal as a refugee from war-torn Europe. As she put it: Continue reading
What could possibly link together such a diverse group of beloved Canadians: a singer, a pianist, a hockey player and a humanitarian?
Could it be that each became household names far beyond the borders of Canada? That starting from very humble beginnings, each has made an enduring mark in their respective professions? Or might it be the uniforms that both Lotta and Jean Béliveau wore? Continue reading
In 1995, award-winning singer-songwriter, activist and humanitarian, Bruce Cockburn recalled how he first came to know and admire Dr Lotta in Ottawa: Continue reading
Photo credit: Creative Commons
What do Olympian Hailey Wickenheiser, singer-songwriter and activist Buffy Sainte-Marie and humanitarian Lotta Hitschmanova all have in common?
“Development often starts with a woman. Support leadership programs for women through the USC, 56 Sparks Street, Ottawa.”
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, let’s give a thought to one of our pioneering women leaders, Lotta Hitschmanova, and the impact she had on her adopted country, Canada.
Quite remarkably, as a refugee, she became perhaps the most prominent Canadian woman of her generation. But more than that, she pushed hard for women’s development around the world, well before this became a key approach followed by international development agencies.
For me, one of the more surprising results of the Bank of Canada’s survey on 12 “bank-notable” women was how few people (29%) recognized Lotta Hitschmanova’s name.
When the Bank of Canada’s cross-country survey of 2,000 Canadians asked which of 12 “bank-notable” Canadian women had “left a lasting legacy”, humanitarian Lotta Hitschmanova came out on top: Continue reading
When the Bank of Canada announced its short list of 5 women candidates to appear on a Canadian banknote, I was a bit surprised to read that Lotta Hitschmanova (1909-1990) wasn’t on the list. I wondered, perhaps I had been mistaken, and Lotta’s story no longer resonated with Canadians to the degree I thought it did.
Recently the Bank of Canada has published the full details of the cross-country survey of 2,000 Canadians who voiced their opinions about the women (including Lotta) who had made it onto the long list of 12 “bank-notable” Canadian women.
In my upcoming series of Lotta56sparks.ca blog posts, I will highlight some of the results of this cross-Canada survey. Here is today’s key finding: Continue reading