Students from the Pembina Trails School Division Human Rights Project laying out the final tiles in their mosaic at Investors Group Field
A picture of human rights
On May 20 and 21 the Fort Garry campus experienced a youthful burst of energy. Students, 13,000 of them, from the Pembina Trails School Division took over Investors Group Field for the Pembina Trails Human Rights Project.
Over two days students from kindergarten to grade 12 built a giant mosaic out of individual 8×11 pieces of paper – each paper individually decorated to represent a human right from the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child. The visual representations included the right to an opinion, the right to education, the right to clean drinking water and nutritious food, the right to protection and freedom from war and so on.
13,000 students from the Pembina Trails School Division put the finishing touches on their mosaic for human rights
When put together, the individual pieces of art formed the Human Rights logo, a symbol that is both a hand and a dove. Mayor Brian Bowman and Gail Asper were both on hand for the final unveiling of the inspirational project.
Mayor Brian Bowman addresses the crowd at the Pembina Trails Human Rights Project
In his remarks to the students, Bowman told the young crowd they were advocates for equality and change. “Today, each of you are showing the world that human rights matter to you in a really incredibly powerful way.”