Skip to main content
We use cookies to enhance your experience on our website. Keep browsing to accept.

New exhibit "Broken Promises" now open.

Human rights promotion

Upstander Projects

Browse through projects created by students who have participated in an Upstander Showcase.

Two students standing in front of their project displayed on a table, presenting their work to visitors. Partially obscured.

Photo: Jason Franson, CMHR

An upstander recognizes injustice, knows their personal strengths and uses their strengths to create change. The following upstander projects demonstrate how students have been making a positive change for human rights.

Grades 3-8

Two students standing in front of a table and an easel that are displaying presentations on poster boards.
These students raised awareness about disability rights and accessibility. For their action plan, they discussed the use of accessibility tools, surveyed their school about inclusivity, created interactive charts and shared their knowledge at a school assembly. Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR
Two posters displayed on easels with a total of groups of two students standing on either side of them.
These students performed the song “Dear Ukraine” by Khrystyna Soloviy with the goal to draw attention to the children taken by Russia during the ongoing Russo‐Ukrainian War. Photo: Andrew Sikorsky, CMHR
A student standing next to 5 easels that display their original artwork.
This student, originally from Afghanistan, uses painting as a means of telling her story. She chose to use her artistic abilities to talk about the experiences of girls and women, her friends, in Afghanistan. Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR
An open cardboard box with a scene of people interacting made of clay.
This is a project about the freedom of expression and tells a human rights story using clay. Photo: Jason Franson, CMHR
Four students and an adult stand next to a table with flags from countries around the world. Three of them are holding up an open book.
These students wrote and illustrated a book to help other children learn and understand their rights. Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR

Grades 9-12

A young man and young woman stand in front of a mural made up of many squares. Some of the squares are filled with imagery, while others are filled with a brown background, waiting to be filled.
After learning about the threat of nuclear weapons at the Youth Nuclear Peace Summit, these students wanted to raise awareness about the issue. For their action project, they created a mosaic of 290 squares and invited visitors to add their own square with a message of hope, symbolizing the cooperation required for a peaceful solution. Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR
A young woman stands next to a box with an ornamental painted trim. The box has three holes that give a view into the box.
This student wanted to bring awareness to the Doctrine of Discovery and how it was used to justify colonialism. She created an interactive bioscope — a visual storytelling device that lets people scroll through a series of narrative panels. Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR
A group of girls stand behind a game of hopscotch. The last few squares have red on them, resembling blood.
These students chose to represent the struggles children face in situations of war and conflict by re‐creating a life‐size game of hopscotch. The final squares of the game are marked with dripping lines of glittering red beads, to represent how violence cuts young lives short. Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR
A young woman stands next to a shield painted with sunny skies and a boat floating on water on one side, and a dark sky and a sinking boat.
This student wanted to raise awareness about the harsh realities that many newcomers face. Her artwork, in the shape of a shield, represents the hope of starting a life in a new place and how those hopes can be crushed by harsh realities. Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR
A young man stands next to a display resembling a Chinese restaurant. One side is tidy and has illustrations of people eating food. The other side is empty and damaged.
This student created a diorama to bring awareness to the Chinese Immigration Act, which restricted immigration from China. He wanted to highlight what the Chinese community brought to Canada and what they lost when they were excluded. Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR

Upstander Showcase Video

Discover more upstander projects by watching the video of the 2025 Upstander Showcase, an event hosted at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights for students to share their work about human rights with the public.

Teacher Resources

Two students standing in front of a table and an easel that are displaying presentations on poster boards.

These students raised awareness about disability rights and accessibility. For their action plan, they discussed the use of accessibility tools, surveyed their school about inclusivity, created interactive charts and shared their knowledge at a school assembly.

Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR
Two posters displayed on easels with a total of groups of two students standing on either side of them.

These students performed the song “Dear Ukraine” by Khrystyna Soloviy with the goal to draw attention to the children taken by Russia during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War.

Photo: Andrew Sikorsky, CMHR
A student standing next to 5 easels that display their original artwork.

This student, originally from Afghanistan, uses painting as a means of telling her story. She chose to use her artistic abilities to talk about the experiences of girls and women, her friends, in Afghanistan.

Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR
An open cardboard box with a scene of people interacting made of clay.

This is a project about the freedom of expression and tells a human rights story using clay. 

Photo: Jason Franson, CMHR
Four students and an adult stand next to a table with flags from countries around the world. Three of them are holding up an open book.

These students wrote and illustrated a book to help other children learn and understand their rights. 

Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR
A young man and young woman stand in front of a mural made up of many squares. Some of the squares are filled with imagery, while others are filled with a brown background, waiting to be filled.

After learning about the threat of nuclear weapons at the Youth Nuclear Peace Summit, these students wanted to raise awareness about the issue. For their action project, they created a mosaic of 290 squares and invited visitors to add their own square with a message of hope, symbolizing the cooperation required for a peaceful solution.

Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR
A young woman stands next to a box with an ornamental painted trim. The box has three holes that give a view into the box.

This student wanted to bring awareness to the Doctrine of Discovery and how it was used to justify colonialism. She created an interactive bioscope - a visual storytelling device that lets people scroll through a series of narrative panels.

Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR
A group of girls stand behind a game of hopscotch. The last few squares have red on them, resembling blood.

These students chose to represent the struggles children face in situations of war and conflict by re-creating a life-size game of hopscotch. The final squares of the game are marked with dripping lines of glittering red beads, to represent how violence cuts young lives short.

Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR
A young woman stands next to a shield painted with sunny skies and a boat floating on water on one side, and a dark sky and a sinking boat.

This student wanted to raise awareness about the harsh realities that many newcomers face. Her artwork, in the shape of a shield, represents the hope of starting a life in a new place and how those hopes can be crushed by harsh realities.

Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR
A young man stands next to a display resembling a Chinese restaurant. One side is tidy and has illustrations of people eating food. The other side is empty and damaged.

This student created a diorama to bring awareness to the Chinese Immigration Act, which restricted immigration from China. He wanted to highlight what the Chinese community brought to Canada and what they lost when they were excluded.

Photo: Aaron Cohen, CMHR

Menus