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Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Royal Canadian Legion joins Veterans Affairs Canada at the 25th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
OTTAWA, May 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Royal Canadian Legion shared the history of how Canada's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier came to be, during a special Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) event in Ottawa this morning. The story was part of the commemoration that took place on May 28th – the same day the soldier was originally interred in the final resting place at the site of the National War Memorial in Ottawa, in the year 2000. Legion Grand President, Vice-Admiral (Ret'd) Larry Murray, who was deputy minister of VAC at the time, spoke on behalf of the Legion about the great collaboration. 'I recall the thoughtful deliberations, the selfless efforts and the superb teamwork by all involved during the planning and preparation phases,' he shared. VAdm (Ret'd) Murray also noted how significant the tomb remains today, with busloads of students and others visiting throughout the year, and as a site of deep reflection at Canada's National Remembrance Day Ceremony; afterwards, attendees often place their lapel Poppies of Remembrance on the tomb. Brigadier-General (Ret'd) Duane Daly is a former Legion Dominion Secretary (now referred to as National Executive Director) and the tomb's project director. He, and past Dominion President the late Chuck Murphy, were instrumental in making things happen. BGen (Ret'd) Daly recounted some of the initial challenging history , and the overwhelming government and community support that eventually led to the tomb's successful completion. 'By early 2000, the remedial work to modify the foot of the National War Memorial was completed and the tomb itself was crafted using the Legion's design template based on the altar at Vimy (Canadian National Vimy Memorial, in France),' he said. The soldier later lay in state at Parliament, and a ceremonial parade including a Royal Canadian Mounted Police mounted horse and a vintage gun carriage, escorted the solider to the final resting place. Her Excellency Governor General Mary Simon took part in the 25th anniversary event and shared her thoughts. She laid a wreath at the site, after which other special representatives including the Honourable Jill McKnight, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, laid a Poppy at the tomb. 'As we mark 25 years since Canada's Unknown Soldier was laid to rest at the National War Memorial, I am deeply grateful to all Canadians who have served and sacrificed for peace and freedom. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier stands as a powerful tribute to those who have served, those who gave their lives, and those who will serve. Today and always, we honour them,' said Minister McKnight. The Governor General of that time, The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, was also present for the morning event. During the commemoration, several students from Glebe Collegiate Institute helped tell the story of one soldier - whose grave remains unknown - through some letters shared with his family during the First World War. Guests included representatives of Veteran groups, and community leaders. The placing of a Remembrance torch near the tomb, and a fly-past of a CH-147F Chinook helicopter also helped mark the ceremony. BGen (Ret'd) Daly ended his remarks thanking VAC for acknowledging this milestone and speaking about the legacy of Remembrance that will endure at the site. 'This tomb will forever stand as the focus of Remembrance for all those who have gone before us, for all those who serve today, and for all those who may be called upon again in the future,' he expressed. A second unknown soldier was recently laid to rest in Newfoundland , also the result of a project led by the Legion and supported by government. In May 2024, a special delegation traveled from Canada to France to receive the remains of an unknown First World War soldier from Newfoundland who served at Beaumont-Hamel in France; at a time when that province was a separate dominion of the British Empire and not yet part of Canada. On July 1, the unknown soldier was also interred at the refurbished Newfoundland National War Memorial which was rededicated to mark its 100th anniversary. Led by the Legion's Newfoundland Command, the event was planned and executed in close partnership with all levels of government and additional supporters. For more on the history of the tomb in St. John's, visit: Tomb in St. John's . For more on the history of the tomb in Ottawa, visit: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier . About The Royal Canadian Legion Incorporated in 1926, the Legion is Canada's largest Veteran support and community service organization. We are a non-profit organization with a national reach across Canada as well as branches in the U.S. and Europe. With 270,000 members, many of whom volunteer an extraordinary amount of time to their branches, our strength is in our numbers. National Public Relations / Media Inquiries: PublicRelations@ / 343-540-7604 - Nujma Bond Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Royal Canadian Legion joins Veterans Affairs Canada at the 25th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
National memorial was a Legion vision that became a reality with government and community support 25th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 25th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 25th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 25th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier OTTAWA, May 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Royal Canadian Legion shared the history of how Canada's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier came to be, during a special Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) event in Ottawa this morning. The story was part of the commemoration that took place on May 28th – the same day the soldier was originally interred in the final resting place at the site of the National War Memorial in Ottawa, in the year 2000. Legion Grand President, Vice-Admiral (Ret'd) Larry Murray, who was deputy minister of VAC at the time, spoke on behalf of the Legion about the great collaboration. 'I recall the thoughtful deliberations, the selfless efforts and the superb teamwork by all involved during the planning and preparation phases,' he shared. VAdm (Ret'd) Murray also noted how significant the tomb remains today, with busloads of students and others visiting throughout the year, and as a site of deep reflection at Canada's National Remembrance Day Ceremony; afterwards, attendees often place their lapel Poppies of Remembrance on the tomb. Brigadier-General (Ret'd) Duane Daly is a former Legion Dominion Secretary (now referred to as National Executive Director) and the tomb's project director. He, and past Dominion President the late Chuck Murphy, were instrumental in making things happen. BGen (Ret'd) Daly recounted some of the initial challenging history, and the overwhelming government and community support that eventually led to the tomb's successful completion. 'By early 2000, the remedial work to modify the foot of the National War Memorial was completed and the tomb itself was crafted using the Legion's design template based on the altar at Vimy (Canadian National Vimy Memorial, in France),' he said. The soldier later lay in state at Parliament, and a ceremonial parade including a Royal Canadian Mounted Police mounted horse and a vintage gun carriage, escorted the solider to the final resting place. Her Excellency Governor General Mary Simon took part in the 25th anniversary event and shared her thoughts. She laid a wreath at the site, after which other special representatives including the Honourable Jill McKnight, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, laid a Poppy at the tomb. 'As we mark 25 years since Canada's Unknown Soldier was laid to rest at the National War Memorial, I am deeply grateful to all Canadians who have served and sacrificed for peace and freedom. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier stands as a powerful tribute to those who have served, those who gave their lives, and those who will serve. Today and always, we honour them,' said Minister McKnight. The Governor General of that time, The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, was also present for the morning event. During the commemoration, several students from Glebe Collegiate Institute helped tell the story of one soldier - whose grave remains unknown - through some letters shared with his family during the First World War. Guests included representatives of Veteran groups, and community leaders. The placing of a Remembrance torch near the tomb, and a fly-past of a CH-147F Chinook helicopter also helped mark the ceremony. BGen (Ret'd) Daly ended his remarks thanking VAC for acknowledging this milestone and speaking about the legacy of Remembrance that will endure at the site. 'This tomb will forever stand as the focus of Remembrance for all those who have gone before us, for all those who serve today, and for all those who may be called upon again in the future,' he expressed. A second unknown soldier was recently laid to rest in Newfoundland, also the result of a project led by the Legion and supported by government. In May 2024, a special delegation traveled from Canada to France to receive the remains of an unknown First World War soldier from Newfoundland who served at Beaumont-Hamel in France; at a time when that province was a separate dominion of the British Empire and not yet part of Canada. On July 1, the unknown soldier was also interred at the refurbished Newfoundland National War Memorial which was rededicated to mark its 100th anniversary. Led by the Legion's Newfoundland Command, the event was planned and executed in close partnership with all levels of government and additional supporters. For more on the history of the tomb in St. John's, visit: Tomb in St. John's. For more on the history of the tomb in Ottawa, visit: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. About The Royal Canadian LegionIncorporated in 1926, the Legion is Canada's largest Veteran support and community service organization. We are a non-profit organization with a national reach across Canada as well as branches in the U.S. and Europe. With 270,000 members, many of whom volunteer an extraordinary amount of time to their branches, our strength is in our numbers. National Public Relations / Media Inquiries: PublicRelations@ 343-540-7604 - Nujma Photos accompanying this announcement are available at in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Royal Canadian Legion joins Veterans Affairs Canada at the 25th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
National memorial was a Legion vision that became a reality with government and community support 25th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 25th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 25th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 25th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier OTTAWA, May 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Royal Canadian Legion shared the history of how Canada's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier came to be, during a special Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) event in Ottawa this morning. The story was part of the commemoration that took place on May 28th – the same day the soldier was originally interred in the final resting place at the site of the National War Memorial in Ottawa, in the year 2000. Legion Grand President, Vice-Admiral (Ret'd) Larry Murray, who was deputy minister of VAC at the time, spoke on behalf of the Legion about the great collaboration. 'I recall the thoughtful deliberations, the selfless efforts and the superb teamwork by all involved during the planning and preparation phases,' he shared. VAdm (Ret'd) Murray also noted how significant the tomb remains today, with busloads of students and others visiting throughout the year, and as a site of deep reflection at Canada's National Remembrance Day Ceremony; afterwards, attendees often place their lapel Poppies of Remembrance on the tomb. Brigadier-General (Ret'd) Duane Daly is a former Legion Dominion Secretary (now referred to as National Executive Director) and the tomb's project director. He, and past Dominion President the late Chuck Murphy, were instrumental in making things happen. BGen (Ret'd) Daly recounted some of the initial challenging history, and the overwhelming government and community support that eventually led to the tomb's successful completion. 'By early 2000, the remedial work to modify the foot of the National War Memorial was completed and the tomb itself was crafted using the Legion's design template based on the altar at Vimy (Canadian National Vimy Memorial, in France),' he said. The soldier later lay in state at Parliament, and a ceremonial parade including a Royal Canadian Mounted Police mounted horse and a vintage gun carriage, escorted the solider to the final resting place. Her Excellency Governor General Mary Simon took part in the 25th anniversary event and shared her thoughts. She laid a wreath at the site, after which other special representatives including the Honourable Jill McKnight, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, laid a Poppy at the tomb. 'As we mark 25 years since Canada's Unknown Soldier was laid to rest at the National War Memorial, I am deeply grateful to all Canadians who have served and sacrificed for peace and freedom. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier stands as a powerful tribute to those who have served, those who gave their lives, and those who will serve. Today and always, we honour them,' said Minister McKnight. The Governor General of that time, The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, was also present for the morning event. During the commemoration, several students from Glebe Collegiate Institute helped tell the story of one soldier - whose grave remains unknown - through some letters shared with his family during the First World War. Guests included representatives of Veteran groups, and community leaders. The placing of a Remembrance torch near the tomb, and a fly-past of a CH-147F Chinook helicopter also helped mark the ceremony. BGen (Ret'd) Daly ended his remarks thanking VAC for acknowledging this milestone and speaking about the legacy of Remembrance that will endure at the site. 'This tomb will forever stand as the focus of Remembrance for all those who have gone before us, for all those who serve today, and for all those who may be called upon again in the future,' he expressed. A second unknown soldier was recently laid to rest in Newfoundland, also the result of a project led by the Legion and supported by government. In May 2024, a special delegation traveled from Canada to France to receive the remains of an unknown First World War soldier from Newfoundland who served at Beaumont-Hamel in France; at a time when that province was a separate dominion of the British Empire and not yet part of Canada. On July 1, the unknown soldier was also interred at the refurbished Newfoundland National War Memorial which was rededicated to mark its 100th anniversary. Led by the Legion's Newfoundland Command, the event was planned and executed in close partnership with all levels of government and additional supporters. For more on the history of the tomb in St. John's, visit: Tomb in St. John's. For more on the history of the tomb in Ottawa, visit: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. About The Royal Canadian LegionIncorporated in 1926, the Legion is Canada's largest Veteran support and community service organization. We are a non-profit organization with a national reach across Canada as well as branches in the U.S. and Europe. With 270,000 members, many of whom volunteer an extraordinary amount of time to their branches, our strength is in our numbers. National Public Relations / Media Inquiries: PublicRelations@ 343-540-7604 - Nujma Photos accompanying this announcement are available at in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Khaleej Times
11-03-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
MBZUAI develops Kazakh LLM in collaboration with Inception
AI has the potential to be the greatest equaliser in multilingual societies, breaking down language barriers, fostering inclusivity, and amplifying cultural identities on a global scale. Realising its potential, Inception, a technology firm, recently released SHERKALA, a a Large Language Model in the Kazakh language. Developed in collaboration with Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) and Cerebras, the model has been rigorously evaluated against human-curated Kazakh-specific benchmarks, covering culture, geography, and history, ensuring high accuracy in comprehension and generation. 'SHERKALA serves as a scalable and localized AI solution, demonstrating how AI can be leveraged to support linguistic diversity and expand access to technology,' said Dr. Larry Murray, VP of Applied Science, Inception Excerpts from an interview: What inspired the decision to launch a Large Language Model in the Kazakh language? The development of SHERKALA stems from a commitment to AI inclusivity and the need to address the linguistic and technological gaps faced by underrepresented languages. With over 13 million Kazakh speakers, the language has been historically underrepresented in large-scale AI models, limiting access to high-quality AI-driven applications. While global LLMs have advanced significantly, they often fail to capture the linguistic, cultural, and contextual nuances of Kazakh, creating a gap in AI accessibility. SHERKALA bridges this gap through state-of-the-art linguistic adaptation, trained on 45 billion words, primarily focusing on Kazakh while incorporating English, Russian, and Turkish. How does SHERKALA align with Inception's broader AI strategy, especially in supporting underrepresented languages? At Inception, our vision is to develop AI-native solutions that drive accessibility, equity, and innovation across global linguistic landscapes. SHERKALA is an extension of this vision, reinforcing our commitment to ensuring that no language is left behind in the AI transformation. It joins our portfolio of JAIS for Arabic and NANDA for Hindi, taking another step toward reshaping the global AI ecosystem. What sets SHERKALA apart is its continuous pretraining from Llama 3.1 with a 25% expanded tokenizer, making Kazakh language processing as efficient as English in top-tier LLMs. This advancement enables greater token efficiency, precise word formation, and natural linguistic flow, overcoming longstanding challenges in Kazakh NLP. By leveraging cutting-edge research, scalable infrastructure, and strategic partnerships, we are systematically addressing the AI divide and reshaping how technology interacts with language. How does SHERKALA's performance compare to larger models, such as the 70-billion-parameter LLMs? What sets it apart in terms of efficiency and accuracy? SHERKALA has been trained on a meticulously curated dataset and optimized to perform comparably to larger models on key measures, proving that scale alone does not determine capability. Unlike most Kazakh-centric or multilingual models, SHERKALA has been rigorously benchmarked against human-curated Kazakh-specific tests, ensuring superior comprehension and contextual intelligence. Trained on Condor Galaxy, one of the world's most advanced AI supercomputers, SHERKALA achieves exceptional computational efficiency while maintaining high precision in both training and inference. With evaluations validating its superior generation quality, SHERKALA sets a new benchmark for open-source Kazakh LLM, by delivering fluid, contextually relevant, and culturally precise responses. Which industries or sectors in Kazakhstan do you anticipate will benefit most from SHERKALA's capabilities? SHERKALA offers AI-driven solutions that can support various sectors in Kazakhstan by improving access to technology in the Kazakh language. In education, it can assist with digital learning, automated tutoring, and translation support for students and educators. Government and public services may benefit from improved multilingual communication, policy drafting, and citizen engagement. Furthermore, in finance and legal sectors, SHERKALA can aid in document processing, contract analysis, and compliance automation. As AI adoption grows, SHERKALA provides a foundation for enhancing accessibility and efficiency across industries that rely on language processing and communication. With SHERKALA joining JAIS and NANDA in your portfolio, what are your next steps for developing AI models for other linguistic communities? Our journey to make AI accessible to all is just the beginning. With the success of JAIS, NANDA, the launch of SHERKALA has reinforced the need for more language-specific AI solutions, particularly for regions where digital infrastructure is evolving. Our next steps involve expanding our AI model portfolio to support additional languages that remain underserved in the AI ecosystem. We are exploring opportunities in Central Asia, Africa, and Southeast Asia, where linguistic diversity is rich, but AI representation remains limited. Moreover, we are focused on refining our models to enhance multilingual interoperability, enabling seamless AI interactions across different languages while maintaining linguistic integrity. Our partnerships with Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) and technology leaders will continue to drive this vision forward, ensuring that AI becomes a universally accessible tool for every language and culture. How do you foresee AI's role in multilingual societies, and what steps should governments and businesses take to adopt AI in a responsible and inclusive manner? AI has the potential to be the greatest equaliser in multilingual societies, breaking down language barriers, fostering inclusivity, and amplifying cultural identities on a global scale. However, realizing this vision requires a structured and ethical approach from both governments and businesses. First, governments must champion open-source AI development while ensuring transparency, security, and fairness in language AI models. Investment in AI education and research will be crucial to fostering homegrown AI talent that understands local linguistic needs. Businesses, on the other hand, must adopt AI-driven solutions that are both inclusive and responsible, ensuring that AI does not reinforce biases or marginalize certain linguistic groups. Collaboration between the public and private sectors will be key in setting ethical AI frameworks, promoting responsible data practices, and ensuring that AI serves as an enabler of progress rather than a disruptor of linguistic diversity. SHERKALA is a prime example of how AI can be harnessed responsibly to empower communities and create a more connected, inclusive future.
