Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor hosted the 14th Annual Human Rights Awards that recognized human rights heroes.
The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights and Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor celebrated the 14th Annual Human Rights Awards on October 05, 2022, at Government House.
The 14th Annual Human Rights Awards is an event to celebrate local heroes who work daily to make this city a place of inclusion where all belong, are valued and participate, and strive to make the City of Edmonton a human rights city. The Gerald L. Gall Award also recognizes heroes who have made an impact at a national level on human rights.
“As we near the 75th Anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 2023, it is critical to recognize those that make those efforts every day to strengthen our social fabric. Often thankless work, these heroes are ones that amplify and mobilize community in important ways. Without them, our communities would not be the same,” Renée Vaugeois.
This year’s Human Rights Champions Award recipients are:
Dicky Dikamba is affectionately known as: ‘Monsieur le Député’, Dicky Dikamba is well known in Edmonton. As the Executive Director of Canadian Volunteers United in Action (CANAVUA) since its birth in 2009, Dicky has been a strong and steadfast leader in Edmonton’s Francophone community and beyond for the past 13 years. His commitment to build CANAVUA and to support those that are marginalized in our community is an inspiration to many. Dicky has done so much for the community with grace and without prejudice.
Ganiyat Sadiq is a leader in the Black and Muslim community as the co-president and co-founder of the Black Inclusion Association, a nonprofit created to address systemic inequality faced by Black Calgarians. Ganiyat also founded the @IAMXMovement, a social community that seeks to raise awareness of the injustices faced by Black, Indigenous and Racialized individuals, as well as providing a safe space to share their experiences.
Deborah Dobbins is a third generation African American Albertan and president and CEO of Shiloh Centre for Multicultural Roots, a not-for-profit society founded in 2010 that is grounded in a mosaic of rich, inclusive African-American Canadian heritage dating as far back as pre-1910 and whose mandate is to honour, educate and celebrate their community with the communities at large. Through her 50+ years of volunteering, Deborah has humbly and tirelessly advocated for the rights of Black people in Alberta and human rights for all.
Patricia Paradis has a career that spans more than four decades as a teacher, lawyer, mediator, and recently retired Executive Director of the Centre for Constitutional Studies (CCS). Patricia has worked tirelessly and graciously to advance the human rights of women and members of other historically disadvantaged groups through her work as counsel and sessional lecturer in Human Rights Law for 23 years in the Faculty of Law, in her role with the CCS, and as board director on several boards.
