Video: Bob Carty celebrating the life of Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova in Word and Song

“I never met Lotta, but I do remember 56 Sparks Street, I do remember that voice.”

In 2009, more than 50 events were held coast to coast to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr Lotta Hitschmanova (1909-2009). In Ottawa, USC Canada (now SeedChange) organized a special “Lotta 100” event to honour their founder.

The M.C. for this event was Bob Carty (1950-2014), an award-winning CBC documentary producer and justice-seeking singer-songwriter.

As a tribute to Lotta during his introduction, Carty leads the audience in the singing of his haunting anthem of hope, “Desert Eyes.”

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Lotta was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize!

I made a recent discovery: humanitarian Lotta Hitschmanova was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, not once, but twice, in 1961 and in 1962!

A second discovery, the name of the nominator: Calgary resident, Arthur Smith, at the time a Conservative Member of Parliament.

Here is how he framed the nomination: Continue reading