Manitoba

Massive human rights mosaic by Pembina Trails students takes centre stage at IGF

The right to a clean environment. The right to be different. Those are among the rights of the child that will take centre field at Investors Group Field over the next two days.

Two-day event dedicated to children's human rights

Massive human rights mosaic by Pembina Trails students takes centre stage at IGF

10 years ago
Duration 1:46
The right to a clean environment. The right to be different. Those are among the rights of the child that will take centre field at Investors Group Field over the next two days.

The right to a clean environment. The right to be different. Those are among the rights of the child that will take centre field at Investors Group Field over the next two days. 

Students from Pembina Trails School Division are arriving in waves at Winnipeg's Investors Group Field Wednesday, as they get started creating a massive mosaic dedicated to children's human rights. 

It's the culmination of a project that's been a year in the making, during which 15,000 students and a number of staff have each created a panel that represents one right. 

The school division says the two-day event at the stadium is the first of its kind in Canada and has come to life with the help of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Guest speakers the students will hear include Gail Asper, who spear-headed the creation of Winnipeg's human rights museum, Michael Champagne, an aboriginal activist in Winnipeg, and a survivor of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, Éloge Butera.

"We will symbolize, as a large community, that we have connected our purpose in education with the larger community's purpose of raising a generation of students with a heart for others, a desire to grow up in a better world, and deep commitment to being an integral part of making a difference," said Ted Fransen, superintendent of education in a news release. 

The installation will be officially unveiled Thursday.