John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights congrtulates the winners of the
FIFTH ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS
On December 9, 2011, the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights was pleased to present the 5th Annual Human Rights Awards.
The Human Rights Awards honours International Human Rights Day (Dec.10th) by celebrating the people and organizations of Edmonton who have dedicated themselves to making our city a better place to live for all.
We are proud to acknowledge the following winners:
ArbreDeVie Fine-Arts World Fellowship – New and Emerging
ArbreDeVie aims to help at-risk immigrant youth deal with social marginalization and gain confidence & leadership capacity through music, painting, dance and other forms of art. This organization began working with Haitian youth and youth of African-descent and now works with at-risk immigrant youth from all backgrounds. Through music, dance, art and group discussion held bi-weekly and monitored by youth leaders, Arbre de Vie provides youth with the opportunity to develop a positive self-image, cultural identity and pride. Through peer mentoring support, this group encourages youth to engage themselves in community service and to contribute to the well-being of others in our society. ArbreDeVie helps youth stayed in school and out of trouble by providing them with the space and opportunity to express themselves through the arts by learning and performing together.
Claire Edwards – Youth
This year, with the help of a friend, Ms.Edwards proposed and began the implementation of a bottled water ban at her high school. She believes that bottled water is horrible for the environment and would like to encourage environmentally conscious alternatives for the students in her school. 1400 eco-friendly water bottles will be distributed this year. As president of her school’s Amnesty International Club, Ms.Edwards has continued with the theme of water conservation and led a letter writing campaign to address the 20,000 first nations people in Canada without access to running water or sewage, as well as the 116 aboriginal communities where the water is not safe to drink. Within just a few days she received over 250 letters from enthusiastic students and staff, and hopes to send over six hundred letters by the end of the year to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Claire believes water is a human right!
Edmonton’s Food Bank - Organization
In 1981, the Edmonton Gleaners Association, more commonly known as Edmonton’s Food Bank, received its official charter of incorporation, and Canada’s first food bank was born. While some individuals and families do access services directly from Edmonton’s Food Bank, the organization is a central warehouse and referral centre for a network of over 190 agencies, churches and food depots. Food services are offered in meal, snack and hamper form depending on the target group and community need. The mission of the organization is to be stewards in the collection of surplus and donated food for the effective distribution, free of charge, to people in need in our community while seeking solutions to the causes of hunger.
PlanIt Sound - Business
After many years of experience working with at risk youth and their families, PlanIt Sound became a vessel to create opportunities and experiences for young people through a project called “Sounds of Youth.” This was the first of many projects where RJ Cui and Rowena Manansala used the power of music to teach youth essential life skills training to enhance their quality of life. In 2008, they partnered with the Greater St. Albert Catholic School Region on a drug awareness campaign titled, “77/23.” Their passion for working with at risk youth lead them to their next major project, “Young Touchables” that was funded through the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. They globally released an album that was written, performed, and produced for youth, by youth. In October 2010, they partnered with Alberta Employment and Immigration to host their first annual, “Youth Power Career Event.” In July 2011, they collaborated with The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights on the “Ignite Change Now! Global Youth Assembly (GYA) 2011,” and created a theme song and music video to raise awareness of global issues surrounding water. As building stronger communities is a definite passion of PlanIt Sound, their latest project has been with the United Way to launch their “Change Starts Here” campaign, which was recently selected to be the national United Way Campaign!
Dr. Ernest Khalema - Individual
Dr.Khalema’s journey for human rights activism, social equity, and social justice began at an early age in the country of his birth: South Africa, where he committed himself to human rights activism. His journey continued for him in Canada as he became involved in the antiracism movement as a community researcher, program developer, and community worker. He has organized conferences and workshops on human rights, international development, sustainable development and social inclusion; working with many non-profit organizations here in Edmonton. Dr.Khalema also uses his platform as an educator in the post secondary arena to teach human rights and anti oppression praxis as well as community practice in numerous courses he has taught over the past eight years. He has also dedicated himself to mentoring underserved and marginalized youth for almost fifteen years through youth programs aimed at fostering positive youth development, asset building, and human dignity. Dr.Khalema has facilitated workshops on culturally responsive ways to intervene against family violence, employment insecurity of international trained professionals, and has advocated for resources for NGOs doing human rights work locally and internationally.
To view more photos from this year’s Awards, follow this link.
To view photos from last year’s Awards, follow this link.
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2010 Winners
INDIVIDUAL–Lucas Crawford
YOUTH–Rabia Sheikh
ORGANIZATION–Prostitution Awareness & Action Foundation of Edmonton
NEW/EMERGING–INspired Youth Inclusion Action Group
BUSINESS– OMNI Diversity Television
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2009 Winners
INDIVIDUAL–Yvonne Chiu
YOUTH–Justin Nshimirimana
ORGANIZATION–HIV Edmonton
NEW/EMERGING– iDance
BUSINESS– Parlour Magazine
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2008 Winners (Keynote: Michael Phair)
INDIVIDUAL–Neil Kennedy
YOUTH– Joanne Cave
ORGANIZATION–Wicihitowin Circle
NEW/EMERGING– SAAIRCY
BUSINESS–Shaw Conference Centre
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2007 Winners (Keynote: Akbar Ganji, 2007 Recipient of the John Humphrey Award)
INDIVIDUAL–Patricia Hartnagel
YOUTH– David Eggert
ORGANIZATION–NAARR (now known as the Centre for Race and Culture)
BUSINESS– Earth’s General Store
