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56 # R I S I N G Y O U T H C O M M U N I T Y I M P A C T The Rights Here Rights Now conference was an expansive one-day human rights conference that was led by Alexa Mucyo Kayonga and other students at Grant Park High School. They specifically focused on Canada's reconciliation efforts with Indigenous nations and critical issues such as the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, as well as the suicide crisis in many Indigenous communities. Alexa and the conference team also invited speakers who spoke about the rights of women, LGBTQ2+, and refugees, as well as issues of Islamophobia and poverty to educate their school's 1,300 students. The underlying theme of Rights Here, Rights Now was to recognize the injustices and consequent traumas of the past for specific marginalized communities, understand where we are in the present, and build pathways for youth to change the future. Their main objective with the conference was to initiate a healing and learning process for Grant Park students and to move towards a more just society. " The main thing we achieved with this project was the education of our student body relating to social justice issues. We also provided students with volunteer resources in order for them to feel empowered to take action. We hope that in the coming years the school community will reflect on the conference and see the need to have it again." ALEXA MUCYO KAYONGA Rights Here, Rights Now Alexa Mucyo Kayonga | $1,500 Winnipeg, Manitoba MANITOBA Winnipeg is located on the territory of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, Dene peoples and homeland of the Métis Nation. It is part of Treaty 1. LEARN MORE AT WWW.WHOSE.LAND

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