Canada ALPHA (Association for the Learning and Preserving of the History of WWII in Asia) is a volunteer community organization formed in 1997 with three local chapters across Canada – B.C., Calgary and Toronto. The mandate is to foster humanity education and racial harmony with its mission to promote public awareness, learning and preserving of the history of WWII in Asia. In 2004, the Toronto Chapter of Canada ALPHA began working closely with Ontario educators in an attempt to integrate this important, but seldom known, history and human rights lesson into the provincial secondary school curriculum.

Thanks to the joint efforts of Toronto ALPHA and a small group of educators, the history of Asia in WWII and events, such as the Nanjing Massacre, have been formally included as suggested topics in the 2005 revision of the Grade 10 history course, which is a compulsory course for all secondary students in Ontario. This is a major breakthrough. Ontario becomes the first jurisdiction in the Western world to have officially incorporated this important history into its secondary school curriculum.

To assist and support teachers to teach this history, Toronto ALPHA formed a working group with educators and study tour participants to write and compile a comprehensive resource guide entitled, The Search for Global Citizenship: The Violation of Human Rights in Asia, 1931-1945 (A Resource Guide for Ontario Teachers of Canadian and World Studies, Grades 10-12). This document, which is available online (www.asia-wwii.org), provides teachers with information about historical events and the related human rights issues, as well as suggested lessons, teaching expectations, easy-to-use resource materials, and reference lists.

Toronto Alpha has added Korean tour in their Peace and Reconciliation Study Tour for this summer for the first time. This is where I come in. I have been in charge of coordinationg Korean tour and will be the designated interpreter during the tour.

I ended up doing more than I anticipated. Numerous email exchanges with Korean organizations and travel agency to arrange all aspects of tour from finalizing tour itinerary to making dinner reservations..

But this will certainly be on the top among all the interesting things I have done in my life..

Our journey starts next Thursday as we are flying to Shanghai, our first destination. Nanjing, Harbin and Seoul to follow..

I am really excited to see what this trip will bring to my life..