The Canadian Human Rights Museum, Winnipeg Manitoba
Wednesday, October 31, 2014
by Timothy W. Shire
Wednesday, October 31, 2014
by Timothy W. Shire
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All Canadians can share in a measure of pride in the completion of Canadian Human Rights Museum located at the Forks in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Though substantial private contributions went into the development of the building and its exhibits, much of the funding came from the City of Winnipeg, the Province of Manitoba and the government of Canada.
The marvellous building was opening in late September of this year and in early October we had the opportunity to experience a guided tour of the building and those exhibits that were open at the time. We did not see the exhibits for the holocaust or of the tragic genocide in post revolutionary Ukraine but we were able to see the remarkable First Nations exhibit and some of the theme exhibits for the museum.
The marvellous building was opening in late September of this year and in early October we had the opportunity to experience a guided tour of the building and those exhibits that were open at the time. We did not see the exhibits for the holocaust or of the tragic genocide in post revolutionary Ukraine but we were able to see the remarkable First Nations exhibit and some of the theme exhibits for the museum.
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It was an especially proud experience from my wife and I because we were accompanied by our middle son Andrew, who is a Tisdale native having been born here at St. Theresa hospital. Andrew is a video editor and using footage shot by his company he assembled a remarkable "in the round" video presentation in the First Nations portion of the museum.
Canada is proud of its multicultural heritage and nowhere is this more evident than in Winnipeg which is indeed one of the most cosmopolitan cities in North America. The museum celebrates this diverse cultural background and focuses upon the achievements made by human kind all over the globe to further equality between all people. Unfortunately, mankind is far from the goals set out by the United Nations or by our own Charter of Human Rights as there are so many glaring instances of inequality. The horror that slavery still exists on this planet and that women in a sizeable portion of the world are treated as property with few rights of any kind.
I was truly impressed and moved by the tour and look forward to my next visit to gain much further insight into the historical and present conditions of this vital part of human existence.
I have thirty-six pictures taken by my wife Judy and I of only a few of the few things we saw. You can see these images by clicking here or on "the pictures" on the menu on the left..
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