Awards of Excellence - How to Enter

Personal interpretation is facilitated by a live interpreter and allows audience interaction in real time. It can include, but is not limited to, in-person interpretation, live-streamed programs, webinars, evening programs, costumed interpretation, theatrical programs, guided hikes, and historical re-enactments.

Non-personal interpretation does not involve the physical and/or real-time presence of an interpreter. It can include exhibitions, text panels, videos and podcasts, pre-recorded programs, trail signage, activity booklets, and other self-guided activities such as physical and digital interactives.

Submission Process Guidelines

Participants must share documentation that allows judges to evaluate their product. This documentation is submitted along with an online Awards registration form, and a nominal registration fee.

The Award registration form is available online once registration opens each year. Participants complete the form online—answering questions, uploading their documentation, and paying a registration fee of $15 (+ GST) for members, and $45 (+ GST) for non-members (which includes a one-year membership).

Documentation requirements vary by category:

Personal Interpretation—A video of your entire thematic program is required, plus your script and/or outline, and optional images. Your video should include the introduction, body, and conclusion of your program. It helps to capture some audience response. For live virtual programming, please provide a link to the video on the original platform.

Non-Personal Interpretation—Include photos of your thematic product, along with your outline and/or interpretive plan. Photos must be high-quality and include all images and texts. Exhibit text must also be submitted on a PDF or Word document for ease of reading. For virtual content, please provide the link to the relevant platform. You can include a PDF of your project (in the case of booklet-type interpretation). If you choose, you can also include video of audiences interacting with your product. If you have questions about the scope of documentation to provide, please contact awards@interpretationcanada.ca.

It’s important to consider your documentation needs in advance, so you can capture the required video and/or images while your program is in progress. Upload videos onto a video sharing platform such as YouTube or Vimeo. Please ensure that the viewing permission is open (i.e. does not require a password) and does not exceed 1 hour in length. If you have any concerns related to submitting video content, please reach out to awards@interpretationcanada.ca.