This spring and summer, in-person and online engagement sessions focus on creating a museum in B.C. to celebrate Canadians of South Asian heritages.

The website is where people can upload written or video submissions and .

Surrey resident co-chairs a 13-member ministerial advisory committee tasked with gathering public input about the project.

害羞草研究所淭he B.C. government promised to build a museum, but the engagement is all about trying to figure out what the objectives should be, and should it be a museum/cultural centre,害羞草研究所� Gurm said.

害羞草研究所淲hat kind of space should it be, that害羞草研究所檚 another question, and then what do we want to call it, and where do you want it built? There are lots of questions on the (survey), that害羞草研究所檚 just a few of them.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所� RELATED: .

No construction timeline is given for the museum, plans for which date back to the provincial election campaign of October 2020, when .

The museum will be the first of its kind in Canada, according to B.C. Premier David Eby, and will 害羞草研究所減reserve the rich history of the diverse South Asian communities in this province for generations to come.害羞草研究所� Eby made the statement May 23, 2024, .

At Surrey City Hall on April 2, the day the B.C. government launched expanded public engagement focused on the project, that aimed to push for the quicker creation of the museum.

The museum concept has been criticized by some for using a broad term 害羞草研究所淪outh Asian,害羞草研究所� but Gurm is quick to defend what害羞草研究所檚 considered a 害羞草研究所渢emporary working name害羞草研究所� for the facility.

害羞草研究所淭he criticism is that 害羞草研究所楽outh Asian害羞草研究所� does not reflect a person,害羞草研究所� Gurm said. 害羞草研究所淪outh Asia is a place, a space made up of seven countries. So when we害羞草研究所檙e talking about the museum, not only are we talking about that, but we害羞草研究所檙e talking about people who might have gone from there to Africa and then to Canada or there to England and then to Kenya and then to Canada. So it害羞草研究所檚 hard to describe who it is, other than it害羞草研究所檚 people from an area. That害羞草研究所檚 why we call it South Asian, to reflect all those people in that area.害羞草研究所�

Gurm, born in the village of Mangata, Punjab, India, grew up in Vancouver. Today, she害羞草研究所檚 an award-winning who is involved in history and museum projects.

Feedback will be summarized into a report published later this year, possibly before the B.C. election on Oct. 19.

害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e hoping that by September we would have a report on the engagement so that we can inform government as to what we want,害羞草研究所� said Gurm, who co-chairs the advisory committee with Am Johal.

害羞草研究所淧olitically, with government cycles, you know that during election time they害羞草研究所檙e probably going to promise you more things than when they害羞草研究所檙e sitting in session.害羞草研究所�

The current round of engagement will be a good reflection of what the community thinks, Gurm hopes. The more people respond, 害羞草研究所渢he better the data and the better the decision,害羞草研究所� she added, 害羞草研究所渂ecause if nobody bothers to engage, then you害羞草研究所檝e just got people sitting around a table, you know, like myself and others that are on the committee deciding, and I didn害羞草研究所檛 want that.害羞草研究所�

So far, Gurm says people prefer either Vancouver or Surrey for the museum location.

害羞草研究所淚t would be great for Surrey,害羞草研究所� she underlined. 害羞草研究所淚 do teach at KPU, and KPU has multiple campuses where we have space. It could be a partnership between the province and KPU, you know. It害羞草研究所檚 an educational facility, and if there are lull times at the museum, then the university could use it (the space). But again, it害羞草研究所檚 a biased opinion and I will be the first to admit that.害羞草研究所�

The creation of such a museum is important, Gurm said, because when she was growing up, 害羞草研究所渢here was nothing reflected in our history books about contributions of South Asians. They were written from a very Western European perspective, and so that change is needed because if we look at self-identity, self-concept, it害羞草研究所檚 important to know who we are and where we come from. And when we don害羞草研究所檛 have that, it has an impact on health. And if you don害羞草研究所檛 have a healthy person, you害羞草研究所檙e really not gonna be a good citizen, so to me, it害羞草研究所檚 really important that we do try to do these types of things.害羞草研究所�