CoLab Stories
The Birks Family Foundation Proudly Supports the CoLab Project
The Birks Family Foundation was founded almost 65 years ago on two basic pillars: Education and Health. It has since added the Arts and the Environment to its areas of focus; however, the first two sectors remain its principal areas of support. Trafalgar School for Girls’ CoLab project with McGill University’s Faculty of Education, is an exciting, innovative, and visionary concept in the field of education, not only in Quebec but in the rest of Canada.
It is for this very reason that our Trustees are genuinely delighted and proud to be supporting The Birks Family Foundation Learning Alcove within the School library as an important part of the CoLab project. The Alcove will offer a dynamic space for collaborative study and access to diverse learning materials. The key word here is collaborative.
“Not only rationality, but individuality too is a myth. Humans rarely think for themselves. Rather, we think in groups. Just as it takes a tribe to raise a child, it also takes a tribe to invent a tool, solve a conflict, or cure a disease. No individual knows everything it takes to build a cathedral, an atom bomb, or an aircraft. What gave Homo sapiens an edge over all other animals and turned us into masters of the planet, was not our individual rationality but our unparalleled ability to think together in large groups.”
- Yuval Noah Harari, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Our Foundation’s support in this educational project positively impacts economic growth and social development. Our hope and expectation is that the Learning Alcove’s state-of-the art space as an important component of the CoLab project, will not only enrich and strengthen Montreal to ensure its continuation as a vibrant centre of learning but also, our Quebec community as a whole and frankly, could well serve as an inspirational template for other educational institutions within Montreal, Quebec and other parts of Canada.
Mission
Through an innovative and collaborative school-university partnership, the CoLab fosters dynamic learning environments and action-oriented research that advance educational practice for a rapidly changing world.
Trafalgar School for Girls
Our diverse school community challenges and inspires girls to embrace learning, be confident, and shape a better world.
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