2026 BVP Blog Page

August 1

The students of this year's Beaverbrook Vimy Prize have officially arrived in Europe and kicked off their journey through France and Belgium.

To start off their reflections the students were asked to answer this question with one sentence: 

“What does memory mean to you?”

‍Landon: Memory is a scar one gets on their mind that after a while could be faint, but will always remain. 

‍Talia: Memory is us trying to hold onto the most important aspects of life as they rapidly fade into history. 

‍Maximilien: La mémoire c’est se souvenir d’un passé qui fait toujours partie d'une certaine actualité. 

‍Émile: Pour moi, la mémoire est quelque chose qu' on doit entretenir pour se rappeler des atrocités d’une guerre. 

‍Hannah: Memory… is the frame in which we choose or are compelled to view what limits of the past we can retain – memory includes stories and emotions, and unavoidable connections to our present. 

‍Nicolas: La mémoire est l’ensemble collectif des actions, gestes et paroles qui contribue à ne jamais oublier quelqu’un. 

‍Zeineb: Memory for me is all the things that have happened – an experience which turns into a memory. 

‍Mikayla: To me, memory means acknowledging and sharing both the beautiful and ugly, especially under a lens of impartiality and understanding.

‍Jack: To me, memory is how we acknowledge the past while working towards the future.

‍Lorenz: Memory means to remember the past, people, and events - to make them a legend. 

Junior: Une mémoire n’est rien de plus qu’une façon simple de revivre le passé afin d’avancer.

‍Grace: Memory means remembering those who lived before me and contributed to the fortunate life that I am able to live today.

Sarah: To me, memory means remembering someone or something no matter how long its past, even if it doesn’t feel significant in the moment, would mean more than we initially thought. 

Ji Woo: A memory is something that never dies even after the death of a person. 

Emily: Memory is the traces that something leaves on the world around it.