A Message from Moses Levy, Executive Director

I reflect almost daily since 2000 when I joined The Asper Foundation. Only four of those years, unfortunately, were when Israel Asper and I worked together. In the ensuing years, the Trustees of The Asper Foundation and I, including Babs Asper who very sadly passed away in 2011, have had an opportunity to understand the grand vision he left for his Foundation, lay the groundwork, accept the challenges and deliver projects that would alter the landscape of how we all view and contribute to our world. I sorely miss the wise guidance of Izzy and Babs.

Since 2000, we have worked tirelessly to deliver the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. This National Museum with capital costs of $351 million with $22 million in operating costs required a commitment that few foundations would undertake. Working with Gail and the Trustees, we moved quickly to realize on Israel Asper’s dream. Today it is indeed fulfilling to see it rise at the Forks with its completion in 2013. This will be the transformational project for our city and will resonate its message on the protection of human rights for generations to come, here and throughout the world.

But the Canadian Museum for Human Rights was only one of many initiatives of the Foundation that we can be proud of, from our award winning Human Rights and Holocaust Studies Program, to sold out jazz concerts to ground-breaking projects in Israel, to a best-selling book by Sir Martin Gilbert, we have diligently worked on every initiative to ensure success and accountability.

As we charter the next decade, we all feel a great sense of excitement on the vast possibilities that lay ahead of us. We are in the process of completing a strategic plan that will get us closer to identifying the types of initiatives and resources that we would bring to them.

I look forward, along with the Trustees and our trusted and loyal staff Jeff Morry and Tracy Pascal to deliver the grand vision(s) of the Foundation. We hope that just like the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the Human Rights and Holocaust Studies Program and other initiatives, that our next ten years will see us have a profound impact on Canada, Israel and the world.