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📅 Date: Friday, June 13, 2025
IWF Behind the Scenes: A Maritime Experience - Join your IWF colleagues for an exclusive, day-long Behind the Scenes tour exploring some of the most significant sites in the Halifax area. This immersive experience will take you to key historical and cultural locations, including the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, where you'll uncover the powerful stories of those who arrived in Canada seeking new beginnings. We'll also visit Africville, recently designated as a UNESCO site, to honour the resilience and history of this Black community. Throughout the day, we will rotate through sites in small groups, allowing for rich discussions and deeper connections. Transportation will be provided, and we will come together for a shared lunch, creating opportunities to engage with fellow IWF members while experiencing the diverse heritage of the region. Don't miss this unique opportunity to go beyond the surface and gain a deeper appreciation of the Maritimes' past and present.
UNESCO Site Africville
About the Museum
First settled in the 1860s, Africville was a thriving African Nova Scotian community nestled on the edge of Halifax Harbour. In the 1960s, its buildings were destroyed and residents displaced to free up land for Halifax's industrial expansion.
Today, the Africville Museum stands in a replica of the church that was the emotional heart of Africville. Inside, audio visual kiosks, pictures, descriptive panels, and artifacts tell the story of the Africville community by commemorating the injustice of this destruction and celebrating the strong community spirit that still endures to this day.
Africville is was recently named a UNESCO heritage site. Read more about Africville here
Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
About the Museum
The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 is Canada's sixth national museum. Their mission is to share the ongoing story of immigration to Canada—past to present and coast to coast to coast. The Museum is located in the Pier 21 national historic site at the Halifax seaport where nearly one million immigrants landed in Canada from 1928 to 1971.
From immigration terminal to national historic site to national museum of immigration, their own story of becoming has its twists and turns.
Countless Journeys. One Canada.
Journeys of courage, hope, hardship and resiliency are at the heart of the immigrant experience. Understanding these journeys helps us understand ourselves and our country.
Their exhibitions are rich with first-person accounts, intimate oral histories, archival photographs, artifacts and immersive experiences. We explore themes of journey, arrival, belonging and contributions situated within larger historical, political and social contexts.
The Museum is the trusted caretaker of the individual voices that, woven together, reveal Canada's ongoing story of identity and belonging.
Learn more about Pier 21 here