In 2028, CPVA will be celebrating the 80th anniversary of UN Peacekeeping and the 40th anniversary of the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to UN Peacekeepers. We are planning a major commemorative project, entitled PK80, to recognize modern Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans and to highlight their – and Canada’s – considerable contributions to world peace over the past 80 years.

PK80 will reinforce the successful cornerstone elements of PK75 by expanding the types and scope of material produced, doubling the stories of Peacekeeping Veterans (military, police, and civilians) in the Anthology: Stories of Canadian Peacekeepers, and significantly enhancing the educational value for use by educators, not only at elementary and secondary school levels, but at universities and colleges as well. There will also be more articles by academic and subject matter experts, and links to peacekeeping books, papers, music, videos, and artworks.

Given the significant lead time required to develop the broad range of outputs and activities we envision for 2028, CPVA has adopted a multi-year campaign plan that began in 2024. In the meantime, CPVA will continue to facilitate Peacekeeping Veterans’ virtual and in-person classroom visits during Veterans Weeks from 2025 to 2028. We will also expand our outreach to additional audiences such as seniors’ homes, Legions, service clubs, and businesses with the intent of raising public awareness of Canada’s amazing contributions towards Peacekeeping.

The project will culminate in 2028, and at the beginning of the year we envision the Government of Canada declaring it to be the “Year of the Peacekeeping Veteran” followed by a series of celebrations, commemorative events, and multi-generational activities throughout the year, focusing on specific dates of note for Peacekeeping and Veterans.