This spring and summer, in-person and online engagement sessions focus on creating a museum in B.C. to celebrate Canadians of South Asian heritages.

The website is where people can upload written or video submissions and .

Surrey resident co-chairs a 13-member ministerial advisory committee tasked with gathering public input about the project.

B次元官网网址淭he B.C. government promised to build a museum, but the engagement is all about trying to figure out what the objectives should be, and should it be a museum/cultural centre,B次元官网网址� Gurm said.

B次元官网网址淲hat kind of space should it be, thatB次元官网网址檚 another question, and then what do we want to call it, and where do you want it built? There are lots of questions on the (survey), thatB次元官网网址檚 just a few of them.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址� RELATED: .

No construction timeline is given for the museum, plans for which date back to the provincial election campaign of October 2020, when .

The museum will be the first of its kind in Canada, according to B.C. Premier David Eby, and will B次元官网网址減reserve the rich history of the diverse South Asian communities in this province for generations to come.B次元官网网址� Eby made the statement May 23, 2024, .

At Surrey City Hall on April 2, the day the B.C. government launched expanded public engagement focused on the project, that aimed to push for the quicker creation of the museum.

The museum concept has been criticized by some for using a broad term B次元官网网址淪outh Asian,B次元官网网址� but Gurm is quick to defend whatB次元官网网址檚 considered a B次元官网网址渢emporary working nameB次元官网网址� for the facility.

B次元官网网址淭he criticism is that B次元官网网址楽outh AsianB次元官网网址� does not reflect a person,B次元官网网址� Gurm said. B次元官网网址淪outh Asia is a place, a space made up of seven countries. So when weB次元官网网址檙e talking about the museum, not only are we talking about that, but weB次元官网网址檙e talking about people who might have gone from there to Africa and then to Canada or there to England and then to Kenya and then to Canada. So itB次元官网网址檚 hard to describe who it is, other than itB次元官网网址檚 people from an area. ThatB次元官网网址檚 why we call it South Asian, to reflect all those people in that area.B次元官网网址�

Gurm, born in the village of Mangata, Punjab, India, grew up in Vancouver. Today, sheB次元官网网址檚 an award-winning who is involved in history and museum projects.

Feedback will be summarized into a report published later this year, possibly before the B.C. election on Oct. 19.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e hoping that by September we would have a report on the engagement so that we can inform government as to what we want,B次元官网网址� said Gurm, who co-chairs the advisory committee with Am Johal.

B次元官网网址淧olitically, with government cycles, you know that during election time theyB次元官网网址檙e probably going to promise you more things than when theyB次元官网网址檙e sitting in session.B次元官网网址�

The current round of engagement will be a good reflection of what the community thinks, Gurm hopes. The more people respond, B次元官网网址渢he better the data and the better the decision,B次元官网网址� she added, B次元官网网址渂ecause if nobody bothers to engage, then youB次元官网网址檝e just got people sitting around a table, you know, like myself and others that are on the committee deciding, and I didnB次元官网网址檛 want that.B次元官网网址�

So far, Gurm says people prefer either Vancouver or Surrey for the museum location.

B次元官网网址淚t would be great for Surrey,B次元官网网址� she underlined. B次元官网网址淚 do teach at KPU, and KPU has multiple campuses where we have space. It could be a partnership between the province and KPU, you know. ItB次元官网网址檚 an educational facility, and if there are lull times at the museum, then the university could use it (the space). But again, itB次元官网网址檚 a biased opinion and I will be the first to admit that.B次元官网网址�

The creation of such a museum is important, Gurm said, because when she was growing up, B次元官网网址渢here was nothing reflected in our history books about contributions of South Asians. They were written from a very Western European perspective, and so that change is needed because if we look at self-identity, self-concept, itB次元官网网址檚 important to know who we are and where we come from. And when we donB次元官网网址檛 have that, it has an impact on health. And if you donB次元官网网址檛 have a healthy person, youB次元官网网址檙e really not gonna be a good citizen, so to me, itB次元官网网址檚 really important that we do try to do these types of things.B次元官网网址�