Stanké, Alain, 1934- : Alain Stanké (Aloyzas Stankevicius) (1934-) C.M., C.Q., Canadian producer, director, journalist, publisher, writer and sculptor of Lithuanian origin. After spending his childhood in Lithuania, he lived in France after the Second World War, studying and working as a film production illustrator. In 1951, he emigrated to Canada and settled in Montréal. He began his career as a journalist at Le Petit Journal in 1954. Over the following years, he worked as a freelance journalist and later as a correspondent for several newspapers, magazines, and radio and television networks (La Presse, Maclean's, Figaro Magazine, Radio-Canada).
From 1961 to 1971, he ran les Éditions de l'Homme, then les Éditions La Presse in 1971, and in 1975 he founded his own publishing house, les Éditions internationales Alain Stanké and Stanké International, and les Éditions Libre Expression in 1976. Stanké has published approximately 2,000 titles by close to a thousand Canadian and international authors and prominent personalities (Gabrielle Roy, Yves Beauchemin, Marie-Claire Blais, Henry Miller, Pierre E. Trudeau, René Lévesque, Han Suyin, Richard Nixon, Muammar Gaddafi, etc.). He is known for publishing The Canadian Encyclopedia in 1987. As an author, Stanké has written more than 30 books, essays, reports and biographies, and his autobiography, Des barbelés dans ma mémoire (first published in 1969 by les Éditions de l'Homme).
During his career, Stanké was involved in hosting several news programs, including Le Point at Radio-Canada. Starting in 1956, he produced, either on his own or in collaborations, more than 70 short films and documentaries on television channels such as Radio-Canada, Telé-Métropole, Radio-Québec and TV5. In addition, Stanké began producing humorous hidden-camera capsules very early on, mainly for Radio-Canada's Carrefour and Rendez-vous avec Michelle programs between 1958 and 1960; Les insolences d'une caméra (inspired by Allan Funk's Candid Camera) aired from 1961 to 1966 (Niagara Films Inc., Onyx Films Inc Montréal), from 1985 to 1987 (les Productions Stanké Inc.), and again from 2001 to 2004.
Stanké is also very active in defending the rights of the poor and youth, and in promoting literacy. Since 1996, he has chaired the Board of Governors of La Fondation Travail sans frontières, an organization for the social integration of street youth. In 2001, he chaired the Francophonie et travail de rue international forum. For several years, he has been involved in fundraising campaigns for organizations such as Development and Peace, Accueil Bonneau, Quebec's Literacy Foundation, and LOVE (which works to end violence against youth).
Stanké has chaired several organizations, panels and foundations that promote the arts and culture in Quebec and Canada: president of the Société des éditeurs de publications internationales d'Amérique (1977); member of Canada's Federal Cultural Policy Review Committee, 1980-1982; member of the jury of the Judith-Jasmin award for excellence in journalism (1984); president of the federal prison literary and artistic competition in Quebec (1990-1992); ambassador for Rencontre des arts (1997-2012); chair of the jury of the International Festival of Films on Art (2005); and ambassador of Montréal Capitale Mondiale du Livre (UNESCO, 2006). He served on the Historica Foundation advisory committee and the honours advisory council for the Order of Canada (2009-2010).
Stanké has received many awards throughout his career, including the Wilderness Award (1967) for the film Cent ans déjà! In 1971, Accord and the Government of Quebec honoured him for his outstanding contribution to spreading Quebec's influence in publishing and journalism. He received the Toastmasters International Communications and Leadership Award (1983) for his work as a leader in the Quebec-Ontario-New York region. He received the Fleury Mesplet award in 2006 for his contribution to publishing in Quebec. He has been a member of the Order of Canada since 1998, and of the Ordre national du Québec since 2003. In 2011, he received a commendation from Veterans Affairs Canada for his contribution to the perpetuation of the memory of the sacrifices and achievements of Canadians in armed conflicts. He was also awarded the Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.
Stanké has engaged in woodcarving for many years, participating in numerous exhibitions and openings across Quebec, Canada and the world. In 2012, he donated his sculptures to the Musée québécois de culture populaire de Trois-Rivières.
