Human Rights Day is observed every year on December 10, marking the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

To mark this important day, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights invites you to come together and celebrate the people who bring human rights to life in our communities. Through conversation, storytelling and music, this year’s programming explores how human rights shape our everyday lives and reminds us that human rights work is everyone’s work.

11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 
Manitoba Teachers’ Society Classrooms

Community members, artists, educators and advocates will share their experiences and explore how human rights connect to their work and their communities. Their stories remind us that human rights work belongs to everyone, regardless of profession or background, and invite us to reflect on a powerful question: What can each of us do to bring human rights into our everyday lives?

Following the discussion, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage directly with the panelists.

Panelists include:

• Bîstyek, Visual Artist
• Dr. Felicia Masenu, Programs Director, Bilal Community and Family Centre
• Gramma Shingoose, Elder
• John Packer, Associate Professor of Law, University of Ottawa
• Peter Tonge, Accessibility Consultant

Moderator: Karen Sharma, Executive Director, Manitoba Human Rights Commission

7:00 to 9:00 p.m. 
Bonnie & John Buhler Hall

Award‐winning Canadian singer‐songwriter and theatrical storyteller Duane Forrest headlines the evening with Tenderly: The Life and Times of Nat King Cole, a performance that has toured throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Blending timeless music with powerful storytelling, Duane offers an intimate exploration of legacy, identity and quiet resistance.

Through soulful renditions and personal reflection, the Montréal‐based artist invites audiences into the life of one of the 20th century’s most iconic voices, exploring how a Black artist in 1950s America became a cultural pioneer while navigating a world that celebrated him onstage but resisted him off it. Raised in Toronto by Jamaican parents, Duane also reflects on his own complicated relationship with jazz, a genre rooted in Black history yet often presented as distant or elite, and how discovering Nat King Cole’s music opened the door to spaces he once felt excluded from.

“I never saw jazz as something meant for me growing up. Discovering Nat King Cole changed that. This show is about visibility, belonging and the quiet power of simply showing up.” – Duane Forrest

Opening the evening is Winnipeg singer‐songwriter Orit Shimoni, a nomadic troubadour whose path has taken her from Oxford and Jerusalem to Calgary, Montréal and Berlin. Known for her humorous storytelling, poetic lyrics and timeless voice, Orit writes songs that don’t shy away from heavy subjects but always find hope, redemption and light.

Together, their music and stories explore the power of the performing arts to foster empathy, celebrate identity and affirm the right to dignity for all human beings.

Registration

All programs are free. Registration is required.