(Media statement from Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences)
OTTAWA, May 5, 2017 — The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences is thrilled to congratulate the outstanding researchers who are recipients of the 2017 Governor General’s Innovation Awards (GGIA) announced today.
As a nominating partner in the prestigious GGIA, the Federation was especially pleased to see its own nominee among the winners: Marie-Odile Junker, Professor of Linguistics and Killam Research Fellow at Carleton University. Specializing in Indigenous language documentation, maintenance and revitalisation, Junker works at the community and individual level in languages preservation. Her work has led to the development of several websites and online dictionaries for the Algonquian languages of Cree, Innu and Atikamekw, and she now leads on the co-creation of an Algonquian Linguistic Atlas.
“Dr. Junker is a remarkable academic working on the preservation of languages that will benefit not only the communities of the Algonquian family that is the focus of her research, but will enable all Canadians to better comprehend and appreciate Indigenous cultures and languages that are an essential part of Canada’s heritage and future,” said Stephen Toope, President of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. “It is fitting that this remarkable human-centred scholarship and participatory engagement of communities be recognized as vital Canadian innovation.”
For a full list of this year’s GGIA winners, visit https://innovation.gg.ca.
The Governor General will present the awards to the winners during a ceremony at Rideau Hall, in Ottawa, on May 23, 2017, at 6:00 pm.