15th Annual Human Awards - Commemorating International Peace Day
Award Recipients showcase their awards on the steps of Government House on September 21, 2023.
In a world that seems filled with hate, oppression, turmoil and heaviness, it is important to remember that there are people worldwide who are working to create a future of peace, dignity, justice and freedom for all. On the International Day of Peace, which is commemorated annually on September 21, the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights celebrated local human rights heroes who are making a difference in their community at the 15th Annual Human Rights Awards hosted once again at Government House in 2023.
We express our heartfelt thanks to JHC patron, the Honourable Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani, and her office for supporting in planning and hosting this important event. With the Autumn colours on full display, the sun was shining and folks came together to celebrate and honour those who are striving to promote, amplify and uphold human rights in Alberta.
JHC has four distinct categories of Human Rights Awards - in this blog post, we would like to feature some of this year’s award recipients! You can also click here to read an additional blog post featuring this year’s Gerald L. Gall Award recipient, and read their keynote speech.
Human Rights Champions Award Recipients
Mark Brave Rock
From humble beginnings, Mark built a committed Blackfoot-led group that started in October 2018 and which has been instrumental in upholding people’s human rights, called SAGE Clan - standing for Serve, Assist, Guard and Engage. Along with a team of volunteers, the Clan patrols multiple times a week in the areas of Lethbridge, Alberta, ensuring those experiencing homelessness and addiction receive basic needs and supplies, while providing companionship and building relationships. When Mark received his award, his words were humble and he thanked everyone who has been a part of SAGE Clan.
“This award is for so many people that walk with me…there’s so many people behind me, who show true charity in helping people who are marginalized. It is about a return to [the] value… of people surviving together… people sharing and caring and loving; to care for one another… so I’m very honoured and accept this on behalf of all the people who walk alongside me and who come from all walks of life, not just Blackfoot…I’m very grateful”.
Vee Duncan
Vee Duncan (1987-2023) was born in Williams Lake, BC and was half-Secwépemc, half-Squamish Nation. Facing the impacts of inter-generational trauma, Vee experienced addiction, incarceration, and homelessness for many years. In March 2021, he walked from Calgary to Edmonton dragging a shopping cart to raise awareness about homelessness and Indigenous mental health, and then founded a non-profit called Nék̓em (“to change something”) to continue his community outreach and awareness-raising work. The name Nék̓em was chosen to honour the Secwépemc values of caring for the community that Vee learned from his grandparents. Vee led Nék̓em’s efforts to dismantle harmful colonial biases in existing support services, build resilience and support within the houseless community, and mentor Indigenous Warriors to heal from inter-generational trauma and care for the community. Vee drew strength and inspiration from connecting with Indigenous ceremony and teachings, including participating in the Sundance and being a Pipe Carrier.
Sadly, Vee passed away just ten days before the Human Rights Awards, and so, on their behalf, the team from Nék̓em came to stand in Vee’s place. Tears were shed as the team came up to receive the award and it was an emotional moment as we collectively grieved Vee’s absence. Faves, who works at Nék̓em and accepted the award on behalf of Vee, spoke of their last meeting together at a local McDonalds, and how they bought food and gave out cigarettes for the houseless community members there. Faves spoke of Vee’s kindness, how they worked hard for a minimum wage to ensure equity between themselves and fellow employees, and how Vee tried so hard to ensure everyone he surrounded himself with and encountered felt valued and loved.
“Vee always made sure everyone felt like they were human - that they were valued - he was affirming to everyone on how much he valued their work. Vee was very funny, witty, outspoken, and present in the community. He had a lot of energy and a lot of creative ideas… the shopping cart pull from Calgary to Edmonton to raise awareness, garbage cleanup for camps to keep them out of trouble with the law, meal support, heating support, naloxone supplies, clothing support…expanding to Calgary….there was no angle to the complex challenges he hadn’t thought of.”
Her Honour, Salma Lakhani, spoke briefly and expressed her shock at Vee’s passing, reflecting how Vee had left a lasting impression when they had last been at Government House to receive an award previously:
“One of the things Vee said - ‘Never in my life with the life I’ve lived, did I dream or imagine that I would be invited to a place like this to accept an award’. Vee’s legacy will live on, and I thank all of you at Nék̓em for coming out here today, and I know you will help Vee’s legacy live on and shine bright.”
Sunpreet (Sunny) Singh Johal
Sunny Johal has been applauded by numerous supporters as a passionate advocate for social justice, combating hate crimes, and promoting anti-racism. Sunny has spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives at the local level, dedicating themselves tirelessly to empowering and advocating for marginalized groups. In their role with the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee (AHCC) and as a student researcher at Grant MacEwan University, Sunny’s research and efforts have centered on hate crimes and the far-reaching impacts on community, raising awareness about human rights violations and implementing pragmatic solutions to address these pressing concerns.With an unwavering commitment to social equality, Sunny Johal continues to lead and make significant strides in the fight against hate and discrimination. We at JHC are so proud as well to work with you, Sunny, and thank you for your tireless efforts! Sunny dedicated the award to his parents, thanking them for all their support.
Rehma Khan
Rehma is an incoming MSc in Public Health student at the University of Alberta and is passionate about social justice, health equity, and human rights. Her work focuses on promoting initiatives surrounding sexual and reproductive health advocacy, and improving health outcomes for immigrant women and girls. In Edmonton and on the campus community, she has led and supported many initiatives to promote gender inclusivity and youth leadership, and her work with the Canadian Advisory of Woman Immigrants has also focused on sexual and reproductive health advocacy, research and education. She has most recently been working in Edmonton and rural communities to address health barriers and address the gaps in information that students have around sexual and reproductive health.
A true human rights champion, Rehma humbly thanked every single person who played a role in her phenomenal journey, in particular their team at the Canadian Advisory of Women Immigrants:
“[They] inspired me to take on this work around Sexual and Reproductive Health advocacy - we’ve made some amazing strides… and done a lot of community-informed research and engaged in communities meaningfully to see how we can support immigrant women and girls in developing and providing comprehensive sex education”.
Marco Luciano
Marco is director of the Alberta chapter of Migrante, a non-profit organization that recently celebrated its 10th Anniversary on September 9, 2023. Marco is also founder and lead of several groups dedicated to upholding the rights of undocumented Migrants and Temporary Foreign Workers, including the National Committee of the Migrants Rights Network and the International Migrants Alliance. The work that Marco and Migrante do has supported many non-status migrants to gain status in Canada and avoid deportation, produced several research papers and policy submissions on these issues, and supported the immediate needs of migrants and compatriots through referrals, advocacy and campaigns. Marco is a force who strengthens, motivates, and leads with kindness, humility and courage. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate and support the work of Migrante, especially as we highlight the issues of im/migrants and access to rights and support as part of Day 3 of the upcoming Ignite Change Convention.
“There are many, many more migrant workers that are coming to Canada, trying to be Canadians, trying to live with us. They are here - but they are undocumented. They always inspire me… I always say, the most creative people that I’ve met in Canada are the undocumented migrants. They lived through the last 20 years being undocumented - imagine that - you have to be creative in doing that.
This is for them. And for the people who are fighting for their right to stay, both in their homeland and in Canada. There is a saying that I always remember every time I hit walls and face challenges; from an Indigenous person in the northern Philipines. He said, ‘We’re drinking from the wells dug by our ancestors. It is our obligation to take care of those wells’ . And it is our obligation to continue fighting for human rights”.
The Honourable Salma Lakhani Award for Leadership in Pluralism and Reconciliation
Debuting in 2023, the John Humphrey Centre was thrilled to introduce a new award: The Honourable Salma Lakhani Award for Leadership in Pluralism and Reconciliation. This award recognizes a young person under 30 years of age who has shown leadership and steadfast commitment to advancing meaningful reconciliation and peaceful co-existence of diverse cultures in Canada. The award is a celebration of achievement and excellence to promote diversity, harmony, collaboration and connection, and winners exemplify and model values of inclusion, cross-cultural connection and equity. Read on to find out more about this year’s inaugural award recipient!
Adebayo Chris Katiiti
Adebayo Katiiti is a Ugandan born Black transgender man widely recognized as the founder of Raricanow, an organization dedicated to supporting 2SQTLGBI+ refugees and newcomers in Canada. Driven by an unwavering dedication to eradicating all forms of oppression, Adebayo focuses particularly on combating anti-Black racism while advocating for mental health and social justice within gender-diverse communities. Adebayo has served as board member, QTBIPOC liaison, cultural guide and Black Trans elder and advisor to many groups, councils and movements locally and globally. Alongside being a passionate human rights activist, Adebayo is a multi-disciplinary artist, musician, and songwriter, a certified Life Coach and is currently pursuing studies in Professional Counselling and Immigration and Citizenship Law. Through these endeavours, Adebayo aims to raise the bar on gender and racial equity, build inclusive and diverse spaces, and further empower marginalized communities and contribute to positive change on a systemic level.
During Adebayo’s speech, he emphasized the need to protect trans folks as attacks are happening worldwide:
“I come from Uganda and it is illegal to be trans, to be LGBTQ in Uganda, and they just passed the anti-gay law, one of the harshest laws in the world. And that is an attack on humanity. So I stand on the shoulders of trans people/ 2SLGBTQ Communities and all members in Uganda right now who are fighting for their rights.
I’m a Prince from Uganda. I ground myself in the lands of the First Nations People, the Indigenous People, …who have supported me, and showed me what healing looks like.”I couldn’t be here without all of you. Lastly I would like to address the community - there are so many anti-trans feelings, social media pictures and protestors out there. My call is to everybody who is privileged - to do the work. As a trans person - and I will send a message to every trans person - we don’t have to be in these streets. We have to be at peace, we have to be protected. We have to believe in harmony and celebrate our lives.”
It was the most beautiful day to be celebrating as a community, reminding ourselves of the power that we have collectively when we all stand together for peace and human rights. As the awards ended, Government House was filled with laughter and cheers as we took pictures to commemorate the day and conversation filled the rooms. Folks embraced each other warmly - as so often in this line of work, many of us are so busy there is no time for casual connection, so we treasure these moments. It was a day to celebrate each other and human rights, and envision a future of a world at peace.
Special Acknowledgement
We wish to acknowledge and once again thank Rare Earth Photographic Arts Outreach Foundation (REPAOF) for joining us at this year’s ceremony and for contributing their wonderful skills to capture these beautiful images of the 15th Annual Human Rights Awards. We are so thankful for your time and energy!
Enjoyed this blog post?
While most of our Human Rights Awards recipients were featured in our blog post, we also had one other award recipient who, in 2023, received the Gerald L Gall Award. CLICK HERE to read more about this award and the acceptance speech from this year’s Gerald L. Gall award recipient - Professor Temitope Oriola!
To nominate someone for a 2024 Human Rights Award, visit our website:
Human Rights Awards — John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights (jhcentre.org)