The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) celebrated International Human Rights Day early, opening its doors to visitors for free on Sunday.
Dec. 10 marks the 70th anniversary of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), but because the museum is closed on Mondays during the winter, it offered free admission and activities all day Sunday to mark the occasion.
Festivities included a youth choir performance at 1 p.m. and a special exhibit called Turning Points for Humanity, which is dedicated to interpreting the UDHR, a document drafted in response to the devastation of the Second World War.
Participants in the exhibit were challenged to match dozens of photos with the 30 articles of the Declaration.
The museum also welcomed new Canadians to Winnipeg in a citizenship ceremony that took place at 11 a.m.
“These are people from all over the world, some of which have their own human rights stories of what happened to them in their own countries, in refugee camps or even here in Canada,” said CMHR spokesperson Maureen Fitzhenry.
Visitors to the museum were also invited to explore the Mandela: Struggle for Freedom exhibition, which has been running since June.