News release details

Winnipeg, Manitoba May 6, 2011 – Mr. Stuart Murray, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR), and Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, President and Vice‐Chancellor of The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg), signed a memorandum of understanding today that will see their organizations work jointly to fulfill their common goals of promoting human rights education and encouraging people to take action for human rights.

"The University of Winnipeg, and the Global College in particular, continue to be leaders in human rights and social justice education as they encourage their students to turn education into action to create a better world," said Mr. Murray. "It is through strong partnerships such as this one, that we will be able to achieve our common objectives and move Winnipeg closer to becoming the human rights capital of Canada."

"The goals of The University of Winnipeg and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights are very similar – providing human rights education and empowering people to take action – it is a natural fit to be working together," said Dr. Axworthy. "Forging strong ties utilizing our faculties and the CMHR expertise in human rights will enhance the learning experience for all that are engaged and involved to help build better societies that foster global citizenship and dialogue."

This memorandum of understanding establishes a framework for future collaboration between UWinnipeg and the CMHR in order to undertake projects and develop programming that empowers people to change thought and take action for human rights. This includes the appointment of several CMHR employees as adjunct professors at UWinnipeg and a collaborative project that will see the CMHR partner with the University in delivering a three‐week summer institute on human rights issues, Adventures in Global Citizenship, in August 2011 that is geared towards first and second year students. Several CMHR researchers will serve as Instructors during this institute and the CMHR will facilitate the use of innovative technology including social media by participating students.

These collaborative efforts will help bring greater awareness to human rights issues in Winnipeg and beyond and will help to increase access to human rights education, well before the CMHR opens its doors.

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About the University of Winnipeg Global College

The University of Winnipeg Global College fosters global citizenship and engagement in human rights through interdisciplinary teaching, research, dialogue, and action in local and global communities. UWinnipeg is consistently ranked in the Top‐10 in the country on an annual basis by both Maclean's Magazine and the Globe & Mail newspaper. The University of Winnipeg is a leader in academic excellence, Indigenous education, environmental studies, business, and theatre & the arts. Find out more by visiting www.uwinnipeg.ca.

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/uwinnipeg and on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/University-of-Winnipeg-youofwcom-Where-You….

About the Canadian Museum for Human Rights 

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR), currently under construction in Winnipeg, Manitoba, was established to provide a place for Canadians, and the world, to explore and promote the subject of human rights and to encourage human rights action. Opening in 2013, the CMHR is the first national museum established in over 40 years, and the first national museum to be located outside the National Capital Region.

For more information about the CMHR please visit http://humanrightsmuseum.ca/ or follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/cmhr_news and on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/canadianmuseumforhumanrights.

For more information on the partnership between the University of Winnipeg and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights or for media inquiries, please contact:

Angela Cassie, Director of Communications

Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Tel: 204 289‑2000, Cell: 204 290‑3651

angela.cassie@humanrightsmuseum.ca

Naniece Ibrahim, Communications

The University of Winnipeg

Tel.: 204 988‑7130

n.ibrahim@uwinnipeg.ca

Backgrounder

CMHR Researchers appointed Adjunct Professors at UWinnipeg

Clint Curle is presently a researcher at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Previously a professor at Carleton University's Law department, Clint taught graduate and undergraduate courses in Human Rights and Transnational Justice, with a focus on theories of human rights and research methodology. Clint formerly directed an international development NGO called World Hope, and has designed and supervised transitional justice and human rights enhancement projects in several African and eastern European countries. For eight years he served as a Methodist parish pastor, including a stint as volunteer chaplain at the Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre just north of Edmonton, Alberta. He has published two books on human rights: Humanité : John Humphrey's alternative account of human rights (UTP, 2007) and New Directions in Human Rights: The Augustana Distinguished Lectures 2007 (University of Alberta/Chester Ronning Centre, 2008). Clint's educational background includes a PhD (Political Science), MA (theology), MA (Legal Studies) and an LLB. He currently holds adjunct positions at Carleton University (Law), the University of Manitoba (Law), and the University of Winnipeg (Global College).

Dr. Rhonda L. Hinther holds a PhD in History from McMaster University. She has worked as a curator at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and has taught Canadian history extensively at the university level. Her research interests include oral history, radical and social justice activism, women's rights, and labour and immigration history. She co‐edited the recently released book Re‐Imagining Ukrainian Canadians: History, Politics, and Identity (University of Toronto Press, 2011) and is currently completing a book on Ukrainian radicalism. She regularly consults on historical films, most recently "The Oldest Profession in Winnipeg" and "Black Field," an official selection of the 2009 Vancouver Film Festival. Dr. Hinther holds appointments as adjunct professor at Carleton University and the University of Winnipeg.

Tricia Logan is a PhD candidate at Royal Holloway, University of London in the department of History and she holds a BA and MA in Native Studies; both from the University of Manitoba. Logan's professional and academic research experience over the past decade has focused primarily on residential school research, developing oral histories from residential school Survivors, Métis history, and Métis traditional knowledge.

Isabelle Masson is a PhD candidate in Political Science at York University, Toronto. Her most recent role was as a Lecturer in Political Science at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), where she taught courses in International Relations at both graduate and undergraduate levels. She has been a research associate at the Centre d'Études des Politiques Étrangères et de Sécurité in Montreal, the York Center for International and Security Studies in Toronto, the University of Cape Town and Center for Conflict Resolution in South Africa, where she undertook research on human security issues for her Master dissertation. She has also worked in Germany, Kenya and Uganda, on a participatory research project on the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Horn of Africa Region. Her work has been published in both English and French. 

Armando Perla is a researcher at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and an adjunct professor at the faculty of law of University of Manitoba and at Global College at the University of Winnipeg. Perla holds a Master's in International Human Rights Law (LLM) from Lund University and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Sweden. He also has a Bachelor of Laws from L'Université Laval in Québec City (LLB). Armando also studied political sciences at the University of Winnipeg, and has extensive experience working with human rights organizations on a variety of issues around the world.