Trent University celebrates Human Rights Day on Wednesday, October 21. The program for the day includes the Presidential Advisory Council on Human Rights, Equity, and Accessibility (PACHREA’s) meeting and a series of workshops throughout the day led by notable people with unique approaches to human rights. From 1:45 – 2:30pm, the keynote address will be given at the Great Hall of Champlain College by Raj Anand, who is a former Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission and is currently involved in the practice of law that relates to human rights. The talk, titled “Advancing Human Rights at University and Beyond”, will seek to shed light on emerging issues in human rights in Canada, especially within the context of the University.
From 3:00 – 4:00pm, students and guests will have the option of attending one of three distinct workshops. The “Joy of Gender: Understanding Transgender Lives in Context, Historical, Cross-cultural, and Biological” will be hosted by Hershel Russel in the Champlain Living and Learning Commons. Russel, a psychotherapist who has focused on trans people and their families, and is himself a transgender man, will discuss transgender experiences as ordinary components of human diversity.
In addition, he will explore transgender people’s struggle for human rights through international efforts. “Project Revision”, hosted by Professor Nadine Changfoot at the Champlain College Morton Reading Room, will address common understandings of ability and disability. The workshop will feature a series of videos on the subject of disability to demonstrate how arts-based approaches can be used in struggles for human rights and to promote a re-thinking of art’s role in human rights, as well as of common conceptions of ability and disability.
Lastly, “They Say That I Have Girl Knees: Gender Transgressions All Around”, will be held in OCA 128 and will be facilitated by Professor Karleen Pendleton-Jimenez. Pendleton-Jimenez conducts gender justice workshops in which she asks attendees, particularly students, about the things they know to be true about gender. The workshop will present “words, perceptions, and insights about gender diversity as articulated by grade 4-12 students,” in order to provide a mutual learning experience and a re-thinking of gendered landscapes.
If you would like to find out more about Human Rights Day at Trent University, follow this link: https://trentu.ca/ohrea/pachrea/PACHREA-Fall2015.php”https://trentu.ca/ohrea/pachrea/PACHREA-Fall2015.php