Polytechnique’s Week of White Rose kicks off ahead of Dec. 6 commemorative events
Posted November 27, 2023 9:36 am.
The 10th edition of the Week of the White Rose at Montreal’s Polytechnique kicked off Monday.
Until Dec. 6, anyone wanting to participate can purchase a virtual white rose on the Rose Blanche website.
The funds raised support the university’s Folie Technique science camp, allowing underprivileged girls – aged seven to 17 – to engage in science activities and explore their passion for the field.
“The donations collected thanks to white roses are essential to the achievement of our mission,” said Julie Doucet Lamoureux, the director of Folie Technique, in a news release. “This summer, girls accounted for more than 37 per cent of our campers.
“In addition to offering us the opportunity to welcome them in ever-increasing numbers, the generosity of the public gives us the unique opportunity to improve our activities, year after year.”
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More than $225,000 has been raised for Folie Technique since the Week of the White Rose first began in 2014.
The week also honours the tragic events of Dec. 6, 1989, when a gunman killed 14 women and injured several others at the school.
On Dec. 4 at 11 a.m., Polytechnique will award its ninth “Order of the White Rose” scholarship – $50,000 to a female Canadian engineering student hoping to pursue graduate studies in Canada or abroad.
From Dec. 4-8, a photo exhibition – put on by the Polytechnique Student Association and PolyPhoto – will be held at the school in tribute to the 14 women who lost their lives.
On Dec. 6 at 8:30 a.m., wreaths of white roses will be placed in front of the commemorative plaque at Polytechnique.
On Dec. 6 at 5:10 p.m. 14 beams on Mount-Royal will light up the Montreal sky.
