8.1 International
A comparison of VAC commemoration efforts with Veterans affairs departments in other countries is difficult due to differences in the way departments are structured in each country. For example, in the United Kingdom, Veterans’ matters fall under the purview of the Ministry of Defence, with responsibility shared by a collection of agencies and public bodies; responsibility for commemoration is not centralized under a particular division as it is at VAC.
A comparison of United Kingdom, United States, and Australian departments of Veterans Affairs shows that VAC most closely aligns with the Australian Department of Veterans’ Affairs when it comes to commemorative responsibilities. A review of Australian on-line commemoration resources revealed a searchable learning portal that could be considered a best practice when compared to other departments. As indicated in the Evaluation of Public Recognition and Awareness, the VAC website does not currently have a highly visible, easily accessible section through which to navigate learning resources (i.e., a learning portal).
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial and the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial in France are both national historic sites. Unlike many national historic sites in Canada, both sites are currently open to the public free of admission. The question of monetizing the sites was raised during the conduct of the Evaluation of Public Recognition and Awareness, with varying opinions. The evaluation team reviewed similar allied countries memorials in Europe and determined that free admission is common at memorial sites that do not have a museum component. Any change to the current fee structure for the memorial grounds would not be consistent with European standards and may result in decreased visitation.
8.2 Veterans Affairs Canada – Social Media Approach
As identified in the previous Evaluation of Public Recognition and Awareness, VAC is effectively using social media to raise awareness of commemorative events and learning/public information resources. The social media initiatives for Veterans’ Week 2017 were highly successful, including the Twitter “retweet to remember” campaign which has been identified as one of Twitters’ most successful Canadian retweet campaigns to date.
VAC’s effort in this area is considered a best practice by other federal organizations and should be continued. Detailed results by social media tool can be found in Appendix F.