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Documenting Activities Related to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

Help us capture the complete story

The City of Vancouver Archives is the repository for the archival records of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). However, we understand that the story of the Games is much broader than what can be told by these records alone. We want to document how our region and communities were transformed during the seven years leading up to the Games, and how the Games and the events around them will continue to affect us into the future. For this reason, our archivists are advocating for the inclusion of records that provide alternative and supplementary documentation of activities related to the Games. We need your participation so that we can preserve a broader view for future generations. The Archives invites people and organizations whose aims and activities have been shaped by this event to contact us about donating their records to us.

Donating Records to the City of Vancouver Archives

We already hold the records of many community-based organizations and individuals which have been part of Vancouver’s history. Donations are preserved in our environmentally-controlled facility and made available to researchers and the public.  We hope the following questions and answers provide helpful insight into how donating your records can help preserve a complete history for future generations.

What do you mean by records?
We look for materials which document the activities of the organization: minutes, letters, reports, photographs and publications, for example. We are able to deal with many media. We’d be happy to discuss which of your holdings would be of archival interest.

My organization opposes many of the City’s actions and policies. Why would I give my files to them?
Our professional archivists adhere to a code of ethics, and value objectivity above our personal biases or those of City officials.

We need to use our records. We don’t want to give them away.
We do not wish to take your current records. We can work out an appropriate time delay so that you will retain the records you need, and only older records be donated to the Archives. You will still be able to view the older records at the Archives.

We discuss some very sensitive issues at our meetings. It’s too early for anyone else to read our minutes and internal reports.
We can work with you to determine a suitable time frame for restricting the records, so that only those to whom you have given written permission may view certain materials. We only ask that records not be restricted forever.

What do we get out of this?
Your records will be organized and stored securely in a preservation environment. The work of your organization will be known and valued by future generations. The records may have a monetary value, for which you can receive a tax receipt upon request.

Some community organizations which have donated their records to us:

• Strathcona Property Owners and Tenants Association (SPOTA): This group was founded in 1968 to oppose urban renewal plans to tear down a large area of Strathcona.
• Gay Alliance Toward Equality: This organization operated from 1971-80, and sought to ensure equal rights for gay people.
• Community Arts Council: This group worked from 1946-1996 to increase and broaden the opportunities for Vancouver citizens to enjoy and participate in cultural activities.
• Lower Kitsilano Ratepayers' Association: Incorporated in 1953, this group was successful in preventing industry from encroaching on their community.
• Tools for Peace: This group began in Vancouver and then became a national organization to provide aid to Nicaragua.
• Greenpeace Foundation: This organization started as the Don’t Make a Wave Committee in Vancouver and we have records from its early days.
• Save the Entrance to Stanley Park Committee: In the 1970s, this group campaigned against redevelopment of the site by Four Seasons Developments.
• Downtown Business Association:  Until 1973, this association aimed to protect, enhance, and promote the economic, commercial, and social well-being of Vancouver’s downtown area.
• Vancouver Citizens' Diamond Jubilee Committee:  This committee was responsible for the planning of celebrations for the City of Vancouver's Sixtieth Birthday.

Please contact the archivist responsible for the acquisition of records related to the 2010 Winter Games directly: 

Courtney C. Mumma, MAS/MLIS, courtney.mumma@vancouver.ca, 604.829.4264

The history of a city is made up of the actions of its citizens and communities, as well as those of its government. Help us capture the complete story.

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