Human Rights Champion Award Winner Spotlight

Written by: Dominic

Earlier last year, BOLT Safety Society was honoured to partner with the BC Heritage Fairs Society and present the Human Rights Champion Award to students across BC. Winning Heritage Fair projects demonstrated exceptional research and presentation on a human rights topic in Canadian history, including gender, race, sexuality, and reproductive health issues. Please join us in congratulating one of our winners, Hazel.

Her project, 2SLGBTQIA+ RIGHTS THROUGHOUT THE DECADES, focused on a timeline covering events over 350 years affecting the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community in Canada, especially the last seven decades. Included is an art project, a colourful pride-flag, and a working clock that ticks through twelve major events that were important to her. She presented how people of the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community in Canada got equal rights to love and marry whomever they want, to be known as a family and get spousal benefits, and be allowed to be who they are without discrimination, whether in their work or in their everyday lives.

These rights started with Quebec's Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1977, the first province to prohibit homophobic discrimination, and the most recent in 2019 when Non-Binary people in Canada were given the option to have an X on their passport for their gender. The project also includes parts of her interview with her cousin Rik, as he shared his experience as a gay man in Canada throughout the decades. Although there are still homophobic / transphobic people in Canada, the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community doesn’t have to fight as much to be themselves because the law is on their side, and their rights are safe for now.

Congratulations Hazel on such a beautiful project. We hope that you keep that same spark and love for others throughout your life. May your work inspire and uplift those around you. 

The Heritage Fairs allow students to take a hands-on role in their learning by selecting a topic of interest to them and carrying out a full research project. Students sharpen their critical thinking, master advanced research techniques, and gain invaluable experience in interviewing and evaluating credible sources, empowering them to navigate and analyze complex information with confidence. This project-based learning approach and commitment allows students, teachers, and parents to track the student’s progress and improvement.

We’re firm believers in the power of education in building more safe and equitable communities – and this award celebrates just that!

Pictured: Hazel and her project