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CMHR Unveils Plans for National Learning Hub
[December 06, 2012]

CMHR Unveils Plans for National Learning Hub


WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, Dec 6, 2012 (Marketwire via COMTEX) -- The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) will harness human-rights teaching tools from across Canada to create a first-ever national toolkit for educators - a shared resource that will mark a new era in the way students learn about human rights.



Museum officials today unveiled plans to work with the 200,000-member Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) to amass human-rights teaching tools used in Canada's classrooms, creating an unprecedented national resource available to educators across the country. A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Museum and the Federation in pursuit of mutual goals to enhance learning about human rights.

"Education is the heart and soul of the Museum, and the most powerful tool we can use to promote the rights of all human beings," said President and CEO Stuart Murray. "Learning is the goal of all our content and programs and a central pillar of our mandate as Canada's newest national museum." The announcement was made during the CMHR annual public meeting at Winnipeg's Sisler High School, the largest school in Manitoba, which boasts a robust human-rights program of studies. A backgrounder about the initiative is attached.


"This exciting database initiative will provide teachers with unparalleled access to new ideas and innovative practices being used by teachers all across Canada," said CTF president Paul Taillefer, who attended the meeting in Winnipeg. "There are some amazing things going on with human-rights learning, and this hub can bring it all together to dramatically enhance what we all offer students in our classrooms." At the annual meeting, museum officials also recapped achievements from the past year and shared details of key priorities for the lead-up to the museum's opening in 2014. The event also featured a panel discussion by museum directors who lead teams of expert curators, researchers, program developers and multi-media professionals.

Murray noted the current fiscal year is a time of exciting transition for the CMHR, which is moving from planning to operational readiness. With the building's major structural elements now complete, the focus is now squarely on completion of the building interior and inaugural galleries, exhibits and programs, which will use multiple perspectives, layers of interactive engagement, and innovative new-media technology to inspire learning about human rights.

The creation earlier this year of the Museum's Learning and Programming department is a major operational focus, he said, and central to its commitment to dialogue and discovery that will transcend its walls. Program development will allow the CMHR to build on its pre-inauguration public offerings, such as the successful series of lectures it presented on the Ukrainian Holodomor genocide last month.

"Programming is just as important as our galleries and exhibits and the building itself -- all elements of a powerful interactive experience," Murray said. "Our learning programs will make the connections that can resonate to inspire action for human rights." Opening in 2014, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights is the first museum solely dedicated to the evolution, celebration and future of human rights in Canada. The museum is the first national museum to be established in nearly a half-century and the first outside the National Capital Region.

To view the backgrounder associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/CMHR_backgrounder_dec06_e.pdf.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Canadian Museum for Human Rights Maureen Fitzhenry Manager, Communications (acting) (204) 289-2112 or Cell: (204) 782-8442 [email protected] SOURCE: Canadian Museum for Human Rights

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