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Oct. 27, 2006
Museum plans moving along
Asper human rights centre is set to become a Winnipeg landmark.
REBECA KUROPATWA
Winnipeg's Canadian Museum for Human Rights, slated to open its
doors in 2010, will be an international centre and, according to
its promoters at the Asper Foundation, one of Canada's most significant
contributions to fosterng human rights here and around the world.
"Winnipeg is a logical place to build the museum, given its
central location and easier access for the student travel program,"
said the Asper Foundation's Kim Jasper. "Certainly some people
think it should be in Ottawa or Toronto but, as Israel Asper said,
'the badges of federalism should be displayed across the country.'
"
Winnipeg has a rich history of human rights progress in women's,
French language and labor rights. The museum will be built at the
Forks, where, for thousands of years, First Nations people have
come to peaceably settle disputes through negotiation. It will be
grounded in Canadian social history, Aboriginal concepts of peace
and justice and the values of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The architectural structure of the museum will feature a shimmering
tower of glass, reflecting the beauty of the prairie land and sky.
Jasper said the museum will include "experience stages, where
dramatic and powerful stories will be told, with forums for more
focused conversations, analysis and interaction, and documentary
zones, where evidentiary material will be presented."
Features will include a section on Canada's Aboriginal communities,
the history of Japanese-Canadian internment and the Chinese Head
Tax. The museum will have a Holocaust exhibit, "addressing
the enormity and industrialization of the killing process,"
said Jasper. Personal stories, including those from Canadian survivors,
will be told. Visitors will also learn of the aftermath of the Holocaust
and the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The
Eye on the World observatory will feature the latest headlines and
news feeds about human rights issues throughout the world.
Finally, the Hall of Awareness will be a place where people can
have their photo taken and be added to a collage of faces of other
visitors – and get a summary of their journey printed out.
The Tower of Hope will provide a symbolic view for visitors to look
out onto Winnipeg and all of Canada.
The museum will offer a one-of-a-kind human rights program and experience
for tens of thousands of students across the country.
"The museum will be an international symbol which will celebrate
our country - one of the most inclusive and tolerant countries in
the world," said Gail Asper, daughter of the late Israel (Izzy)
Asper. "The museum will have stories about Sikhs, French Canadians,
the Doukhobors, Japanese ... Ukrainians, Acadians, Jews and [others]."
More than 1,000 donors across Canada, from more than 40 ethno-cultural
and human rights groups representing thousands of Canadians, have
given funds to the museum. It has the support of three levels of
government.
"Of all of the Asper Foundation's initiatives, perhaps the
most widely recognized is the Asper Foundation Human Rights and
Holocaust Studies Program," said Asper. She said more than
4,500 people have participated since the program began seven years
ago. Students from many backgrounds and faiths in 39 cities spanning
nine provinces coast-to-coast across Canada have participated in
this initiative.
The program promotes inclusiveness and sensitizes Canadian high
school students to the consequences of racism through a unique 18-hour
student program on the Holocaust and on human rights, with emphasis
on American history and the civil rights movement. Once the students
finish the course, the Asper Foundation and other donors fund a
trip for them to Washington, D.C. There, they spend several days
at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and other important
monuments relating to freedom. The students also volunteer in their
communities on public projects of their choosing when they return
home.
"My father taught his children to make a difference,"
said Asper, "and through the Asper Foundation we, in turn,
are teaching young people across Canada to make a difference."
The design of the museum is by award-winning architect Antoine Predock.
The expected cost for the museum is $311 million, and it will be
the largest human rights centre of its kind in the world.
Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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