2016

Annual Report
John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights

Education creates the voice through which human rights can be claimed and protected.
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
2016 Annual Report
John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights

Presidents Remarks 3

Who we are 4
Board of Directors 4
Special Advisor 4
Staff in 2016 4

What we do 5
Engaging Children and Youth 6
Reconciliation in Schools 6
Rights in Play 7
Genocide Curriculum 7
Hate Hurts 8

Fostering Adult Learning and Education 9

Human Rights Facilitator Training 9
Cold Lake Human Rights Learning Series 10
St. Paul Learning Summer Series 10
CrimSim Project 10
Youth Action Project on Justice 11
Peace Builders 12
Festival of Faiths 12
This is Our Canada 12
JHC Young Filmmakers 14
Justice4Reel 14

Building Human Rights Communities 16

Edmonton Coalition of Human Rights 16
#YEGDignity 17
Human Rights Awards 18
Do the Rights Thing Film Series 19
Righting Relations 19
Beyond Canada 150 - Ignite Change! Global Gathering for Human Rights 20

Operationalizing Human Rights 22

Circle Alberta 22
Office of the Child Youth and Advocate (OCYA) 23
Human Rights in Natural Disasters 23
Edmonton Police Service 23

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 2

Presidents Remarks
The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights (JHC) has seen an amazing year
of growth and accomplishment. Success has been achieved through a wide range of
educational programming. These programs and events involved participation from many
sectors of our community, reflecting the rich diversity of the communities we serve and
have engaged with during 2016.

JHCs work of the past year extends far beyond our local Edmonton community. With the
initiatives taken by our staff and volunteers, the JHC has extended its influence into
communities throughout Alberta, and into Saskatchewan and Manitoba. People were
brought together in ways that achieved real and meaningful dialogue, learning and positive
change. Issues addressed included matters related to poverty, mental health, diversity,
children, and our identity as Canadians. The impact of this work is significant.

Testimonials received from individuals express the very positive influence of JHC work
on their lives. This year, 2017, Canada reaches two important milestones: 150 years of
Confederation and the 140th Anniversary of Treaty 6. To recognize these anniversaries,
JHC is hosting a major and important Conference, Ignite Change 2017 Global Gathering
for Human Rights. Ignite Change 2017 will address critical topics of hate, drugs, arms and
human trafficking. Through dialogue and discussion we will celebrate the strengths of our
Canadian community. We will address areas where we want to achieve significant changes
and advancement and we will explore ways for everyone to be involved in affecting
positive change.

I invite you to read this 2016 Annual Report of the JHC. It will provide an opportunity to
appreciate the extensive number of programs, activities and events JHC has undertaken
this past year. I would like to acknowledge and thank the commitment, dedication and
untiring efforts of the Executive Director, members of the staff and the many volunteers
who contribute immeasurably to the success of our organization. A sincere thank you to
all the generous funders, supporters, partners, sponsors and contributors to the work of
the JHC. The Board of Directors voluntarily provides valued leadership and commitment to
the vision, mission and goals of the organization. This contribution is greatly appreciated
and critical to our success. The Board is justifiably proud of the achievements during the
past year and recognizes and appreciates we continue to build upon the extensive
accomplishments from previous years.

Today, more than ever, the work of the JHC is needed to advance our vision which states:
A world that manifests a culture of peace and human rights in which the dignity of every
person is respected, valued and celebrated. As we celebrate in 2017 the 35th
Anniversary of our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it is important also to
acknowledge the work of John Peters Humphrey, for whom our organization is named. He
was the principal drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Over the next year, my hope is our continued efforts and our accomplishments advancing
the principles enshrined in these two documents will continue to grow. Thank you for your
valued support.

Sincerely,
Joan Cowling
President

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 3

Who we are
Board of Directors
Joan Cowling, President
Norm McLeod, Vice President
Roxanne Ulanicki, Secretary
Lou Yaniw, Treasurer
Salma Lakhani
Noelle Jaipaul
Jill Flaman
Ranya El-Sharkawi

Special Advisor
Christine G. Rapp

Staff in 2016
Nexi Alarcon
Ryan Benn
Tina Bernard
Chelsea Burke
Ramona Fernando
Kiona Ligtvoet
Carrie Malloy
David N.O.
Munira Nwaakuso
Angelica Quesada
Tisha Raj
Maigan van der Giessen
Renee Vaugeois

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 4

What we do
The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights (JHC) is dedicated to human rights and
peace education in Edmonton and beyond. Through innovative, experiential and transformative
programming, training and events we work toward our goal of building communities based on
dignity, responsibility and justice.
The John Humphrey Centre has four strategic priorities in our current business plan.
This report provides an overview of the progress made on those priorities in 2016.

Engage Children and Youth

Provide learning and education on inclusion, peacebuilding and human rights to foster
knowledgeable, enterprising, inclusive and engaged children and youth, as well as build school
environments that embed childrens rights.

Foster Adult Learning and Education

Engage adults of all ages in learning about human rights and bring forward the voice and
perspective of citizens, translating this into active civic engagement and informed public policy
and practise.

Build Human Rights Communities

Proudly build on the last decade of work and align with the City of Edmonton to further
momentum as a Human Rights City as well as strengthen capacities and networks to build human
rights communities.

Operationalize Human Rights

Support the public service, non-governmental organizations and businesses in understanding,
operationalizing and promoting domestic compliance with human rights.

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 5

Engage Children and Youth
Provide learning and education on inclusion, peacebuilding and human rights to foster
knowledgeable, enterprising, inclusive and engaged children and youth, as well as build school
environments that embed childrens rights.

Reconciliation in Schools
Advancing Reconciliation in Education, is a collaborative pilot project between the JHC, Edmonton
Catholic Schools, and Edmonton Public Schools. The project aims to build safe spaces for
Indigenous students and their peers to discuss, recommend, and develop children-led initiatives
that promote reconciliation within schools.
In 2016, JHC launched this initiative with a summer pilot to explore reconciliation from a
rights-based lens. We worked with children from grades 5 and 6 from the Inner City Childrens
Summer Program. Based on this pilot, JHC launched a larger pilot reconciliation project in five
schools across the city in September. Evansdale Elementary, Rosslyn Jr. High, Queen Elizabeth
High School, Fresh Start Program and St. Marks schools participated in the pilot program.
A consultation workshop was held in late August with twenty elders and community members,
including teachers, who reflected on the process. We presented our education plan and sought
input from stakeholders who strongly reaffirmed our approach. We also hosted a focus group to
garner input on our childrens rights research tools that will be used as part of this project. We
hope to have an influence on program and policy decisions in the future around rights and
reconciliation in schools through these important research.
The project uses collaborative and interactive arts-based programming and experiential activities
that focus on Indigenous issues in Canada - particularly on the story of Turtle Island (North
America), Canadian history, UNDRIP, and the Convention of the Rights of the Child.
By mid-December, students at the five schools were nearing completion of their nine sessions of
learning on the importance of reconciliation and the impacts of Canadian history. Indigenous
speakers such as Todd Houseman, Reuben Quinn for Cree language, Gary Moostoos and Miranda
Jimmy were invited to share their knowledge on what it means to be Indigenous, Treaty Rights,
and The United Nation Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The program
investigates the Convention on The Rights of the Child (CRC) and UNDRIP by connecting these
documents to local realities through games, discussion and creative group work. Students are
challenged to consider how reconciliation is alive in our school communities and reflect on how
Indigenous rights can inform how we live, work and play together.
The sessions for Calls to Action from the student perspective will be carried out in January 2017
and will be documented through video, photographs and interviews.

Three professional development sessions were also held with teachers in Rosslyn, Evansdale and
St. Marks to orient the teachers to human rights and the goals of the project.

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 6

Rights in Play
In addition to the work on reconciliation, JHC delivered 11 Rights in Play sessions on human rights
to a total of 72 youth aged 9-14.
The elementary school workshops were centred around childrens rights and the CRC. We worked
with two classes at Evansdale Elementary where students learned about the CRC and used art to
express their understanding. The grade 5 class created comic books that they later animated using
Microsoft Animation Desk software. The grade 3 class created handmade rag dolls to explore
concepts of identity and citizenship, helping students understand identity, rights and
responsibilities through hands-on activities.
We have delivered these sessions at Evansdale school in previous years. It is important and
rewarding to continue to build relationships at this school and to help foster a community of
human rights empowerment. They are one of our core partners on the Advancing Reconciliation in
Schools project.
Community sessions delivered outside the schools engaged newcomer youth in interactive,
experiential learning about human rights with a focus on identity, the role privilege plays in access
to human rights, and discrimination. The youth engaged in dialogue that encouraged collaboration
and critical thinking in confronting their own biases and privilege.
Our goal in 2017 is to engage more newcomer youth communities in exploring human rights
through the Rights in Play Curriculum. The cooperative, interactive nature of the Rights in Play
workshops lends itself well to English language learners.

Genocide Curriculum
The John Humphrey Centre has been working on the development of a new curriculum titled Truly
Never Again? that is centered around the issue of genocide. The curriculum will challenge young
people to understand the definition of genocide and to consider the impact of genocide on the
world around them as they learn about the United Nations system.
The purpose of this curriculum is to engage youth in discussions of human rights and global peace.
It will divide the issue into a series of lessons, challenging youth to understand the definition of
genocide, to appreciate its historical context, to comprehend its impact and to engage with
modern global, and particularly Canadian, mechanisms that address genocide. Our goal is to work
with senior peace activists and educators to build young peoples skills in areas such as
non-violence, witnessing and active listening.
The curriculum will be an in-depth toolkit coupled with digital stories. At the end of the project,
we will have developed, piloted and revised the curriculum and associated digital stories. We are
seeking sponsorship and support for this project and hope that in 2017 we can make headway on
bringing it to classrooms.

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 7

Hate Hurts
In April 2016, the Hate Hurts program, in partnership with the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee and
Calgary Police Service, held a training session in Red Deer for 37 School Resource Officers (SROs)
from across the province. The training focused on raising awareness about hate and bias incidents,
crimes that occur in schools and communities and methods to prevent such incidents from
happening. JHC supported the planning and delivery of this training as well as the creation of a
toolkit for SROs to use in further training.
Hate Hurts encourages youth to be involved in creating a safe environment that embraces
diversity in their school and community. The Hate Hurts training prepares SROs to deliver this
award-winning program to youth in junior and senior high schools across Alberta. Since the
training, eight sessions have been hosted by SROs.
Elizabeth Cooke, Education Coordinator for the Calgary Police Service, played an integral part in
delivering the training. The training would have not been possible without the team of the Red
Deer RCMP Detachment and Marco Lou at K Division. Thank you to the Alberta Human Rights
Education Fund for their support of this project.
Fostering Adult Learning and Education
Engage adults of all ages in learning about human rights and bring forward the voice and
perspective of citizens, translating this into active civic engagement and informed public policy
and practise.

Human Rights Facilitator Training

In 2016, the John Humphrey Centre delivered two week-long training sessions for individuals from
Alberta in an effort to build an army of facilitators across the province. The training sessions were
made possible by the Alberta Human Rights and Multiculturalism Fund. During this intensive
five-day program, participants discuss relevant human rights concerns while exploring how these
issues are at play in our communities and what our role can be in affecting positive change.
Participants become familiar with human rights law and international declarations, learn facilitation
skills and have an enhanced capacity to become community leaders with human rights awareness.
Local guest speakers complement participant efforts to guide one another through experiential
dialogue-based sessions to learn and explore facets of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The first training took place in April with 17 participants. This training was conducted primarily for
participants living outside of Edmonton with the aim of hosting similar sessions in their own
communities. We were honoured to have Renee Vaugeois, Carrie Malloy, Ayodeji Otiti, Arman Chak,
Roxanne Ulanicki, Kate Quinn, Jeremy Williams, Lewis Cardinal and Mickey Wilson as our guest
speakers throughout the week. We developed a snapshot of the program, which can be viewed at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeF3YeyF3-w.
The second round of training took place in the fall with 17 participants. We had the pleasure of
having guest speakers for each day of the session including Ayodegi Otiti, Leroy Visccher, Dan
Rietveld, Roxanne Ulanicki, Kassia Haynes, Rachel Manichoose and Cindy Boucher. A snapshot of
this training can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twYQe4fjNs8.
We also held a full-day additional training workshop on anti-oppression for our human rights
facilitators and staff with local anti-racism expert and facilitator Ev Hamdon. Twenty-five
participants were part of this session. JHC has made the ongoing development of our human rights
facilitators a priority so we can strengthen and build a network of facilitators that will advance
human rights across the province.
In the past year, we saw the delivery of an increased number of sessions by our human rights
facilitators. For example:
70 people attended a blanket exercise, an interactive exercise that demonstrates the
devastating effects of colonialism on Indigenous peoples, in Rocky Mountain House to kick off
an Indigenous sobriety retreat,
40 people attended a blanket exercise in St. Albert for an Alberta Teachers Association
professional development day,
42 people attended a blanket exercise at Next Up Edmonton and
50 people attended a blanket exercise at the John Janzen Nature Centre staff building day.

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 9

Cold Lake Human Rights Learning Series
From the success of the Human Rights Facilitator Training (HR Fac) Program, JHC helped support
the launch of a Human Rights Learning Series in the community of Cold Lake. Led by HR Fac
alumni, Melanie Heroux, the 11-part series educates participants on international human rights
documents, how they apply to the local community and the role that participants can play in
affecting positive changes.
Several local guest speakers participated in these sessions to talk about how issues such as
womens rights, laws, protection and Indigenous Rights in Canada are viewed in Cold Lake. Renee
Vaugeois helped open the first session and we supported the participation of a transgender
speaker, Jan Buterman, in October.
Huge kudos to Melanie for doing this and to Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) Cold
Lake for supporting her! Also, thank you to the Alberta Human Rights Education and
Multiculturalism Fund for helping us advance these community-based conversations.

St. Paul Learning Summer Series

In 2016, JHC launched a human rights learning series in St. Paul, Alberta in partnership with
Mannawanis Friendship Centre. These sessions were meant to enhance and increase learning and
dialogue on human rights in the community. The series launched in June as part of St. Pauls
Indigenous Week. About 50 people learned about UNDRIP with Renee Vaugeois, Lewis Cardinal and
Danika Littlechild.
As part of our human rights facilitation training, JHC held an additional three workshops in St.
Paul to discuss relevant human rights concerns while exploring how these issues are at play in the
community. Participants took part in conversations around womens rights, childrens rights and
Indigenous rights.
At the same time, youth participants engaged in conversations about poverty, racism, and
housing. Guest speakers from social support groups in St. Paul were invited to actively engage
with the participants. Guest speakers from local community groups Champions for Change, the
Crisis Centre and Native Counselling Services helped carry the discussions. There were on average
10 youth participants at each session.
These sessions were made possible with our partnership with the Mannawanis Native Friendship
Centre in St. Paul and the Alberta Human Rights Education and Multiculturalism Fund.

CrimSim Project
In March 2016, in conjunction with of International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross
Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims, an exclusive launch of a Criminalization
Simulation was held at the iHuman Youth Society.
The Gold Laurel Award winning UNCENSORED program of iHuman Youth Society and the Youth
Action Project (YAP) on Poverty program of the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human
Rights built this simulation. The goal is to challenge authority figures and the public to think about
criminalized behaviors in a new way and to consider how criminality intersects with poverty. This
educational and training simulation aims to challenge the systemic barriers that exist within the
law and justice systems and is available to everyone in the community.
Approximately 50 guests attended the launch including Edmonton Police Chief Commissioner
Laurie Hawn; Cathy Palmer, Chair of the Edmonton Police Commission and Chief Commissioner of
Alberta Human Rights Commission; Robert Philp and JHC board members. More information about
the CrimSim and reactions from the crowd can be viewed at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyA0vHIW2Tg.

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 10

In May, JHC issued a press release as part of a Call to Action to have community members,
agencies and governmental organizations book a CrimSim session. We received support from the
Edmonton Community Foundation to deliver ten sessions in the community.
The CrimSim was also delivered to delegates at the High Risk Youth Conference in May and to
delegates at the National Mayors Summit on Poverty in April. In June, in partnership with the End
Poverty Edmonton taskforce, two CrimSim sessions were held for elected officials, City of
Edmonton employees, front line agencies and law enforcement. Its been a great start and the
project continues to evolve.
We would like to thank the Edmonton Community Foundation and the Government of Canada for
being our official funder for YAPs Criminalization Simulation.
Check out JHCs Youtube video made by CrimSim participant Stephenie White at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QauMYzOK8QA.

Youth Action Project on Justice

The 2016 Youth Action Project kicked off in September with 17 participants. This years theme
Justice looked at policing in youth communities in Edmonton. The team had their last session on
December 15. During the weeks of the formal program, participants made community visits to
social agencies such as Wicihitowin Society, the Edmonton John Howard Society and iHuman Youth
Society to get a better perspective of community police interaction with community agencies. YAP
also hosted guest speakers from the Edmonton Police Service to talk about community policing,
accountability and the evaluation of police work in North America.
Early in 2017, the team is finalizing four calls to action that address community safety and
systemic barriers identified by youth. YAP will present these to the Edmonton Police Commission,
the Government of Alberta and other community stakeholders.
Inspired by what she learned, returning YAP participant Tharsini helped co-create a video (while
at the Peter Lougheed Leadership program at the University of Alberta), focusing on access to
transit and the barriers experienced by those facing poverty. YAP alumni were interviewed to offer
first hand perspectives. You can watch the interviews at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1231jYMiEAM.
Jennifer Hamilton, a 2016 YAP participant, wrote a short article about her experience in attending
the session. Her articled titled Getting Educated on Police Issues can be found at http://ow.ly/
cHbm305lv8o.

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 11

Peace Builders
The 2016 Peace-Builders program brought together 16 participants to explore the diverse faith
perspectives on issues facing Canada. Peace-Builders had the opportunity to visit faith centres of
Buddhist, Atheist, Sikh, Christian, Islamic, and Jewish communities as well as the Canadian Native
Friendship Centre. The Peacebuilders program had their last session on in March 2016. Participants
developed ideas on how to move peace building forward and brainstormed on several project
ideas. Overall feedback from participants was positive and they emphasized the necessity of
having this program in such a diverse and multicultural country.
As an outcome in 2016, the team has been working to evolve their own concept of Humans of
New York. JHC is supporting the Peace-Builders by providing and integrating training opportunities
on documentation and witnessing skills. In September, JHC hosted a 2.5-hour learning session with
three local artists and documentation experts to explore the value of documentation and to share
their perspectives and tips. Our Peace-Builders have made themselves available to document at
important events such as the Festival of Faiths.

Festival of Faiths
After a successful premiere in 2015, the Festival of Faiths, Edmontons interfaith festival, was held
on September 24 and 25, 2016, with an additional evening panel and even more faiths, traditions
and beliefs represented than in its initial year.
A volunteer initiative planned by Peace-Builders alumni, the all-day Festival on September 25 was
held at Boyle Street Community League (9538 103A Avenue). This years festival included an
evening panel discussion on September 24 at the Stanley Milner Library Theatre entitled LGBTQ
Voices Within Faith-Based Religions. The panel fostered discussion around the intersections be-
tween faith, gender identity and sexual orientation.
The festival featured exhibits from more than 20 faith groups from our city, including
representation from larger religions like Christianity and Islam; Indigenous traditions such as Cree
spirituality; and smaller faiths such as the Quakers, Satanism, Bah and Zoroastrianism. Several
spoken word poets performed, and there were panel discussions on community service and faith.
A discussion on secular governance and religion raised current event topics such as the burkini ban
and public funding of private religious schools. JHC board members and approximately 150 people
attended the event.
A seminar series titled Religion 101 gave faiths the opportunity to give a more thorough
introduction to their tradition. Refreshments for the day were provided by Seva Food Truck
(http://sevafoodtruck.org/), a charity initiative founded by the Sikh community to tackle issues of
food security and the poverty that burdens individuals in the greater community.

This is Our Canada

In early 2016, the JHC hosted a series of full-day youth workshops in Regina, Winnipeg and
Lloydminister that engaged 90 young people ages 13 and up. The workshops encouraged youth
to engage in debate and dialogue on human rights issues, their connection to poverty and history
and also to identify potential ideas to create a wave of action in the community. In each of these
workshops, young people identified key priorities from the youth perspective for their community
and built calls to action to share with their local government officials. From access to public
transportation, to more beds for people battling addictions, to dealing with racism, youth have
a strong grasp on the gaps that need to be filled in their community to support the rights of all
people.
A This is Our Canada zine (an informal magazine), was created by the documentation team as a
culmination of the project in 2017. You can view the Zine at
http://www.jhcentre.org/news-blog/our-canada-e-zine.

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 12

Within this project, JHC has been able to develop valuable educational lesson plans and resources
that are being actively used across our programming. For example, a timeline activity of critical
human rights milestones in Canada has created a universal activity that enables participants to
take a critical look at Canadian history and to reflect on how this history manifests in our
communities today. Yany Siek, a history major, interned with us to ensure that our work was
accurate and well sourced.
We presented the lesson plan at three teachers conventions (a total of four sessions) in
Edmonton, Red Deer and Lethbridge. We focused on sharing the lessons plans from the youth and
the experiences from This is Our Canada. Fifty-eight participants in the sessions gave us positive
input and feedback. We were also able to deliver seven additional sessions within schools from
January to March, reaching an additional 165 young people.
We thank the Government of Canada Youth Take Charge Program and Alberta Human Rights
Education and Multiculturalism Fund for their support in our efforts. We are looking forward to a
busy year in 2017 as we push conversations on reconciliation and human rights forward.

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 13

JHC Young Filmmakers
In 2016, we worked with four young people to build their skills and capacity in film-making as well
as to create their own short film on an issue that concerns them. Solon Hiro Birch became the first
of the team to submit photos and short reflections on his chosen topic, suicide. Under the expert
mentorship of filmmaker David N.O., he continued his exploration of the issue by writing,
co-directing and editing a short film on suicide called As I Lie Awake (2015), which can be viewed
at: https://youtu.be/XUBFsXgQDSY.
Vicki Moses used photography, creative prose and short reflections to document her own
experience of identity and coming to grips with colonization and how culture has been lost as a
consequence: Mother earth and ones connection to earth and earths connection to us. And at
one point Native Americans stood for. What we lost and what we gained. And what I hope we are
still fighting for. And regaining our self-worth back for generations to come. And a sense of Pride
in what we hope to stand for. Vicki completed a hard-hitting screenplay highlighting issues such
as healthy youth relationships and MMIW called The Vanishing (2016). The short can be viewed at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pe_-_kADyA.
Alberta Favel, aka Faves, is passionate about hip hop and talking about the realities faced by
himself and his peers in regards to poverty. Working with his strengths, we encouraged him to rap
about it, which motivated him and allowed him to envision a new way to approach songwriting.
Using his music as a tool for positive change, Faves worked with mentor artist Tzadeka to craft
a song with a powerful message that reflects his unique understanding of poverty. The song is a
different take on a traditional interview, where he and Tzadeka rapped verses back-and-forth like a
conversation and then created a music video. Faves spent many hours learning about
photography and the foundations of film from mentor David N.O., completing the final editing on a
fantastic music video, Street Noise, which can be watched at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqTLEd5Q5-c.
Faves and Vicki were invited to share their stories at the Building Empathy Conquering Apathy
symposium, which was organized by the Canadians for a Civil Society that was held on May 13-14.
Solon Birch Hiro also secured a personal interview with the Minister of Health to talk about suicide
in Alberta as well as deliver a workshop with JHC staff at the National Mayors Summit on Poverty
in April.
Our fourth film-maker, Chantel Buffalo, is currently working to build a short film in mentorship with
David N.O. that focuses on the death of her niece while in the child welfare system. We are looking
forward to the completion of this film in 2017 as it will bring an important perspective to our
growing work with the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate.

Justice4Reel
In partnership with the Metro Cinema, JHC held their inaugural Social Justice Film Festival,
Justice4Reel, from August 26-28 at the Garneau Theatre featuring young and emerging
film-makers.
Justice4Reel kicked off with a launch reception that showcased seven youth submissions
featuring a range of critical social issues such as poverty, suicide and murdered and missing
Indigenous women. The evening also showcased local young artists Matthew Cardinal, Solon Birch
Hiro and Victoria Guzman. Entertainment was provided by DJ Agile.
This event highlighted the works of young filmmakers who focus on exploring themes connected
to social justice, human rights and grassroots activism.
David Shepherd, MLA for Edmonton Centre, and Linda Duncan, MP for Edmonton Strathcona, were
present at the event to acknowledge the work of these young artists:

City Embers (2016) by Boyle St youth Unit

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 14

 Epic Speech (2014) by Jack Belheumer
The Vanishing (2016) by Vicki Moses
As I Lie Awake (2015) by Solon Birch Hiro
Street Noize (2016) by Albert Favel
My Life I Dont Want (2016) by Nyan Kyal Say (international submission)
Turning Point (2015) by Matthew Auger and Cory Nicotine

The three-day festival also featured two documentaries, Brothers in the Buddha and The
Tipping Point: Age of the Oilsands, which were followed by a question and answer session with
directors Beth Wishart MacKenzie and Tom Radford.

The festival was enjoyed by 148 members of the community. Shaw TV showcased our youth films
on Channel 10 in September.

This initiative has been made possible with the support of the Edmonton Community Foundations
Youth Empowerment Grant and in partnership with Metro Cinema, ShawTV and The Film and Video
Arts Society of Alberta (FAVA).

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 15

Building Human Rights Communities
Proudly build on the last decade of work and align with the City of Edmonton to further
momentum as a Human Rights City as well as strengthen capacities and networks to build human
rights communities.

Edmonton Coalition of Human Rights

In its first year of formal operation, the Edmonton Coalition of Human Rights (ECHR) has been able
to formulate their terms of reference and a core team of advocates regularly meet to share work,
collaborate and identify learning opportunities. A strong email network has been built that
supports phone calls or other contacts made to JHC or other partners in the network to seek
guidance and support. Catch a video of our first meeting at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFR_WxJIgTQ.
The Coalition focuses on deepening community knowledge on human rights mechanisms. At the
end of March 2016, a Human Rights 101 session was held to educate the public on reporting and
filing a human rights complaint. The workshop was led by Arman Chak who taught participants on
the process of filing a human rights report, what constitutes a human rights complaint and what
resources should be used when filing one. See some of Armans talk and an interview at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJH2-4KGEJc
Due to some media coverage of a Somali community meeting, the Minister of Justice & Solicitor
General Kathleen Ganley wanted to meet with the Coalition to discuss policing issues. In April, ten
people from the coalition attended a productive meeting with Minister Ganley. Shortly after the
meeting, Bill 9 was introduced. View ECHRs briefing note to the Minister at: https://docs.google.
com/document/d/1fe6rn15ROaM2wl0YmESuH5Hf63LsQb-KmPu7n4siOfc/edit?usp=sharing.
In light of the #MakeitAkward campaign and inaccurate information within City Council about past
commitments and work with Racism Free Edmonton, of which JHC participated for over ten years,
two meetings with 85 community members were held in September to talk about Racism Free
Edmonton. We held a follow-up session in October to prepare a draft document to summarize what
was heard and develop key recommendations for the City. The goal was to send a delegation to
meet with the Mayor by end of October.
Twenty-five community members attended the meeting with the Mayor. While the City tells the
media they support these initiatives, they havent actually given these campaigns any support
since 2013. The community meeting was to create a dialogue to demand shifts in the Citys
approach to looking at racism and discrimination in our community. There is strong community
commitment to continue Racism Free Edmonton as a community initiative. JHC has catalyzed
these conversations through the Coalition and is now working to build a collaborative sharing of
responsibilities.
You can view the harvest document of issues that need to be addressed, as well as suggestions
and strategies at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WTCPVNdw6VYhoO1qwr2BShWwqP-
23FO7nJtPUScnfS58/edit?usp=sharing.

By the end of 2016, the community network had met five times and had 13 members attend a
meeting with Mayor Iveson and Councillor Banda. The group did not share specific
recommendations or actions at the time; however, they supported the requests for information
submitted by Black Lives Matter. Collectively, the group has created the following:
a draft community agreement which we can use as our principles for dialogue,
draft of guidelines and the intent of the group,
a draft of key recommendations that have been harvested from the dialogues as well as
fleshed out in workshops and
a prioritization of goals and strategies for 2017.

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 16

#YEGDignity
The YEG Dignity murals which JHC created during 2015 to create public creative spaces on issues
related to poverty found a permanent home for #YEGDignity at the Nina Haggerty Centre for the
Arts. JHC held a small reception launch that featured artist talks from Aaron Paquette and AJA
Louden.
The #YEGDignity Campaign brought together acclaimed First Nations artist Aaron Paquette and
celebrated graffiti artist AJA Louden in collaboration with youth and community members to
create four striking murals that tackle important issues: inclusion/exclusion, criminalization, mental
health, sexual exploitation and violence against women.
JHC would like to thank our sponsors, End Poverty Edmonton and Parkdale Cromdale
Community League. Find out more about #YEGDignity in this short video: https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=LLayeGH5zh0.
The JHC Street Team hit the streets this year to talk to folks about freedom, justice, dignity and
security, particularly in wake of the challenging events happening in the US over the past year.
Here are our most recent videos:
Black Lives Matter Rally: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyMOrp8GCK4,
post-Orlando at the Legislature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNVR90FDaYo and
two additional videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zuarxhzbm0 and https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=tyXqdA6Ny34.
In October, in partnership with End Poverty Edmonton, JHC hosted a celebration of Global Day
of Dignity at Edmonton City Hall. The celebration featured City of Edmonton Artist in Residence,
Dawn Marie Marchand, in a live banner art installation, a special presentation by End Poverty
Edmonton and an open mic enabling people to share their stories of dignity. During this event, 50
community members came together. We also had a collaboration on a community magazine (zine)
that aims to challenge the narratives centered around dignity.
Local artist/emcee Tzadeka, prolific Edmonton poet Dwennimmen, and Young Medicine were guest
performers. A local youth, Vicki Moses, and the Self Advocacy Federation group joined Edmonton
City Councillor Scott McKeen in a dialogue reflecting on the intersectionality of dignity and
poverty. Kate Gunn, the Project Director of End Poverty Edmonton, shared her reflections in the
dialogue. Catch a snapshot of the event at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQp6I0kpEyA.
JHC also released a Yeg Dignity Campaign School Resource toolkit and launched a community-wide
creative art submissions campaign as part of its partnership with End Poverty Edmonton.
The educational toolkit provides a guide to Edmonton teachers, volunteers and youth program
leaders to integrate activities in the classroom while contributing to the YEG Dignity Campaign. It
challenges students to think about what dignity means at a local level and in their own lives.
The educational toolkit aims to challenge perceptions of poverty and look forward to how
Edmontonians can rally together to protect and support all in the community to belong and
participate. A copy of the resource toolkit can be found on Scribd at:
https://www.scribd.com/document/323268380/YEG-Dignity-Campaign-2016-School-Resource.

Human Rights Awards

On December 11,2016, the 10th Annual Human Rights Awards were presented at the ATB
Financial Arts Barn. With approximately 200 people in attendance, the capacity event was
emceed by Portia Clark of CBCs RadioActive. The Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human
Rights Commission, Marie-Claude Landry, was our keynote speaker and Councillor Andrew Knack
brought greetings from the City of Edmonton. Local artist Lana Whiskeyjack led a #YEGDignity
mural live painting while Martin Kerr provided entertainment during the reception. Joan Cowling
gave the opening remarks and Norm McLeod provided closing remarks.

Photo by Leroy Schulz Photography

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 18

The Gerald Gall Award is presented annually to an individual who has made an outstanding
contribution to and has demonstrated excellence in the protection and promotion of human rights
in Canada. Robert P. Lee is described as a rare lawyer who takes on cases that no one else will
touch; particularly cases of abuse, including sexual, of children in the care system. After fighting
over 200 individual cases of abuse in the care system, Robert Lee filed a collective suit against the
Government of Alberta for the systemic abuse of children in care. The John Humphrey Centre was
pleased to present The 2016 Gerald Gall Award to Robert Lee for his work defending children.
This year the Human Rights Champion Award was presented to four local human rights champions
making Edmonton a better place - a place where all are included, participate and belong.

Paula Kirman, a pioneering media artist in Edmonton and community organizer;

Ruth Adria, who has a relentless commitment to and advocacy for elder rights in Alberta;
Kristina De Guzman, a community builder and artist in Edmonton who organizes for change and
inclusion and
Roy Pogerzelski, a fierce advocate working towards inclusion and overcoming discrimination
and racism in Lethbridge.

Do the Rights Thing Film Series

This film series aims to generate dialogue on important issues related to security, justice, freedom
and dignity. In September 2016, in partnership with Robert Normey (the Centre for Constitutional
Studies) and Development and Peace- Caritas Canada and the University of Alberta Faculty of Law,
the film We are Many was screened at the University of Alberta. The documentary is about the
global day of protest against the Iraq War. The film was followed by a question and answer session
with the co-producer of the documentary, Wael Kabbani. Approximately 65 people attended the
event.

Righting Relations
The Righting Relations work with the Catherine Donnelly Foundation is making great headway in
Edmonton and across the country. The John Humphrey Centre has spearheaded a network of
radical adult educators and community organizers in Edmonton and across the prairie provinces.
Righting Relations launched with a community gathering to discuss the concept of Righting
Relations and learning needs in the community. From this gathering of 60 people, we formed a
core team that developed the concept and plan for Righting Relations as an adult educator
network and hub.
In September, we hosted the first regional gathering of Righting Relations, a women-led hub that
builds initiative and brings adult educators together to strengthen their individual and collective
capacity. Twenty-six adult educators from Edmonton, Regina and Winnipeg carved out the
beginning of a journey towards reconciliation and work to address poverty. Each of these three
cities are working to host three learning circles in their communities with local adult educators to
build a community-based hub.
The videos of our work to date are available at:
Part One: Community Information Session https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MznOruqnlvI
Part Two: Edmonton Core Working Group to develop concept and plan https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=_GaGIz_BvbU
Part Three: Prairies Hub Gathering https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oODboHpBkV0

A synopsis of the work done in 2016 can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji_ZI-

bzxa-Q.

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 19

In September, the first Righting Relations Lunch Bag series was held at Boyle Street Community
Plaza. With approximately 55 participants, Rabia Naseer delivered a presentation on Moving
Beyond Diversity in the work space:
Often various organizers, leaders and participants critique spaces of political and social change
not being reflective of diverse people. The question is not why we do not have certain number of
diverse groups, rather the root issue is a power relation of who has power and who does not? Who
represents whom? Whose voices are heard and whose are silenced or excluded? The notion of
diversity needs to be viewed through a different paradigm by challenging to move beyond
achieving diversity to creating leadership spaces to bring the marginalized into the center.
View Rabias presentation at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhwUmFsSuKs.
This Lunch Bag series is a partnership between the Catherine Donnelly Foundation, the City of
Edmonton and the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights.

Beyond Canada 150 - Ignite Change! Global Gathering for Human Rights
In January 2016, JHC kicked off the year by preparing for a world-class human rights gathering in
Edmonton. Community members came together and culled ideas and recommendations for the
vision and purpose of the conference. A snapshot of the first meeting can be seen at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ibO0J7DcWw.
A core planning group then worked to strategize the approach, themes and venues for the
conference. We were fortunate to have Steve Grubich help facilitate these meetings. In addition,
we would like to thank St. Stephens College for allowing us to use their library as a team meeting
space.

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 20

In commemoration of the 150th birthday of Canadian Federation and the 140th anniversary of
Treaty 6, the JHC is planning Ignite Change 2017: A Global Gathering for Human Rights. The
gathering will be held from August 21-25, 2017 at the University of Alberta. On December 11
2016, a soft launch for the Gathering was held at the 10th Annual Human Rights Awards. The
website is now live at ignitechange2017.com. Registrations are open, and several delegates have
already registered.
You can hear more about the Gathering at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYKf--_Kizw.
Ignite Change will bring together concerned global citizens to reflect on critical issues facing
Canada while working to renew our treaty relations. The sessions will focus on critical issues of
hate, drugs, human trafficking and arms, which are impacting our communities and the globe.
Ignite Change will reflect on the global and local realities of these four issues, discuss root causes,
identify solutions and strengthen our collective capacity to move forward as Canadians; reconciling
a difficult past.
The Gathering is part of the journey to decolonize Canada.

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 21

Operationalize Human Rights
Support the public service, non-governmental organizations and businesses in understanding,
operationalizing and promoting domestic compliance with human rights.

Circle Alberta
The Circle Alberta dialogues are part of a commitment by JHC to foster relationship building
around critical human rights issues with Albertas Indigenous Peoples. We are working in
partnership with the Alberta Native Friendship Centres Association and local Friendship Centres
across the province.
In March 2016, we hosted four dialogues in Rocky Mountain House, Pincher Creek, St. Paul and
Edmonton in partnership with the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate (OCYA). The intention of
these dialogues was to reflect on how we can work to implement the United Nations Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in OCYAs work. A what we heard report with potential calls
to action for OCYA has been drafted and JHC will return to these communities in 2017 to further
the conversation.
In June, thanks to the support of Justice Canada, we hosted four additional dialogues in Medicine
Hat, Lloydminster, St. Paul and Cold Lake as part of our partnership with the Alberta Hate Crimes
Committee. The intention of these dialogues was to build an understanding among law
enforcement of the unique impacts of hate on Indigenous peoples and inform them of the
barriers to reporting. The dialogues were intense and we are looking forward to advancing work in
this area. A video of the tour can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk_cvRGn9oI.
The report can be viewed at:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4mWurlcRBe_Qy1XUGJuMTA2alU/view?usp=sharing.
In September, 2016, JHC, in partnership with OCYA, held a full-day workshop called Taking
Action on the Declaration at Blue Quills First Nations College. The goal of this workshop was to
delve deeper into the information collected during the first phase of work with the OCYA through
the lens of the United Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Convention on the
Rights of the Child. Del Graff participated in this event along with five people from St. Paul. We
built and strengthened strategies for further implementation of rights for children in the welfare
and justice systems. Participants also provided feedback to the current Review of the Child and
Youth Advocate Act.

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 22

Office of the Child Youth and Advocate (OCYA)
In addition to the Circles across the province and work with OCYA to operationalize UNDRIP, we are
also working with OCYA staff on building a systemic advocacy plan to address the barriers for
newcomer, refugee and immigrant youth in the child welfare and justice systems. JHC has
facilitated and supported OCYA in engaging with communities on the issues and on identifying
opportunities for action and change.
In October, the Government of Alberta accepted submissions for the Legislative Review of OCYA.
JHC gathered the recommendations from our work and made a submission to the Standing
Committee. We hope to present these recommendations in the future. The report can be viewed
at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ewmr588YEL90Kldc9qx9ARCj7utC-BVEV0dI65619TI/
edit?usp=sharing.
Finally, JHC has witnessed the OCYA file their first human rights complaint with the provincial
government for human rights violations of a young man in the Young Offender Centre. This young
mans complaint against the Edmonton and Catholic school boards and the Edmonton Young
Offender Centre is on the grounds of disability. As a result of this effort, JHC has facilitated a
connection with the Commissions education section to have a workshop for all advocates in the
OCYA November 2017.

Human Rights in Natural Disasters

JHC was proud to release our research report Protecting Human Rights in Natural Disasters:
Considerations for Alberta in May 2016. This report is based on two years of research and work in
High River following the floods. The release of the report came on the heels of what is now
touted as the nations largest natural disaster, the wildfires in Ft. McMurray. This disaster makes
the report more relevant than ever and a call for public engagement on the issue is critical.
The full copy of the report can be seen at:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/312937597/Natural-Disasters-Report-2015.

Edmonton Police Service

In 2016, as a result of our work with the Youth Action Project, the John Humphrey Centre worked
to build a relationship with the Edmonton Police Service (EPS). In their efforts to renew their youth
engagement strategy, EPS contracted JHC to host four focus groups in different cultural
communities. The sessions were designed to assist EPS in understanding barriers and tensions
related to youth-police interactions and to identify key areas for EPS to build upon in order to
contribute to community safety and trust. A final focus group was held with police to balance the
input and a report of what we heard and recommendations for action were submitted to the
Human Rights and Diversity Unit.
JHC spoke to youth from the Somali community, Boyle Street Community Services, the Green
Room and iHuman. These sessions also served as a catalyst to shape the direction of this years
Youth Action Project, which is focused on providing recommendations to the Chief of Police and
the Edmonton Police Commission.

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 23

 The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights is an
organization committed to advancing the principles enshrined
in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
and other international documents, through education,
dialogue and change. Named after John Peters Humphrey, a
Canadian lawyer and principal drafter of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the Centre believes that
education in human rights has an immense power to
transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of
freedom, democracy and sustainable development.
(Kofi Annan)

www.jhcentre.org
@jhcentre

John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights 24