Nouvelles
Activities commemorating December 6, 1989
Thirty-three years have passed since the anti-women attack that took the lives of 14 young women and injured 13 other individuals on December 6, 1989, at Polytechnique Montréal. To honour the memory of the victims of this tragedy, several commemorative activities have been organized.
Week of the White Rose
By offering virtual white roses to a person of your choice, you’re helping to cultivate the next generation of women in engineering. From November 28 to December 6, Polytechnique Montréal is inviting its entire community, past and present, as well as the general public, to pose this symbolic and inclusive gesture through the transactional site roseblanche.org.
The campaign takes its name from white roses that have become commemorative symbols of the tragic events of December 6, 1989. These blooms have also come to highlight the opening of science and engineering to women of all backgrounds, which leads to a more inclusive society, better able to face scientific and technological challenges. Since its inception in 2014, Week of the White Rose has raised over $170,000 - enabling thousands of young girls to attend science workshops and participate in Folie Technique summer science camp.
Thanks to Week of the White Rose, science outreach organization Folie Technique is able to host more young women from underserved backgrounds in its science and engineering outreach activities, to help develop their interest in these disciplines. Give white roses.
Order of the White Rose Scholarship
On Monday, December 5, 2022 at 11:00 a.m., Polytechnique will hold the eigth annual Order of the White Rose Scholarship ceremony. The event is by invitation only, in person, in the main Polytechnique building. This scholarship recognizes an exceptional Canadian woman engineering student who chooses to pursue graduate studies and is awarded a $30,000 scholarship.
White Ribbon distribution
On December 6, 2022, white ribbons will be distributed at the main entrances of Polytechnique Montréal buildings.
Association étudiante de Polytechnique Photo exhibition
As a tribute to the 14 victims of December 6, 1989, Association étudiante de Polytechnique and the PolyPhoto student committee, in collaboration with the Polytechnique Service de reprographie, are presenting a photo exhibit in the tunnel linking the main and Lassonde buildings, from December 5 to 9, 2022. Fourteen women members of the Polytechnique Montreal community pay tribute to the 14 women whose lives were taken that tragic day. Next to each portrait, one can learn more about the woman whose name is written on the picture by reading a short biography. This exhibition, which was presented for the first time in 2019 during the 30th anniversary of the feminicide, was motivated by the desire to make these 14 exceptional young women known.
Laying of Rose Wreaths on Polytechnique’s Commemorative Plaque
On Tuesday, December 6, at 8:30 am, a wreath of white roses will be placed on the commemorative plaque that honours the victims of the December 6, 1989 attack, placed by Polytechnique students and staff. All members of the Polytechnique community (students, staff, alumni) and the general public are invited to be present at the memorial for a moment of contemplation, at any point during the day; note that physical distancing guidelines must be followed. The plaque is located outside, on the South-West wall of Polytechnique’s Main Building.
Light beams on Mont Royal
To keep alive the memory of the young women who died on December 6, 1989, 14 light beams will illuminate the sky above Mount Royal on December 6, 2022 at 5:10 p.m., the time the first shots were fired. Beams will be lit one at a time, every few seconds, as the names of the 14 victims are called. Due to the pandemic, there will be no gathering on Mount Royal this year. The public is nevertheless invited to observe a minute of silence as the beams are lit. There will be live streaming of the occasion on Polytechnique's social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.
