From a man in Halifax who arrived as a refugee from Somalia with eight children and becomes a firefighter, to a Calgary dancer with cerebral palsy taking a leading role in a theater performance company, there are uplifting stories ready to be shared. 

These are contemporary stories of Canadians working to overcome human rights challenges as a part of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR), a new exhibit that opened at the beginning of March. This is part of celebrating Canada’s 150th anniversary.

Our Canada, My Story uses short films to share the lives of seven people all with very different but inspiring stories. The museum hopes this will start thoughts about "how we are different, how we are the same, and what links us all as Canadians" as they stated in their news release. 

Julia Peristerakis, researcher curator, states "we wanted to present really diverse stories and people facing different circumstances but also how they respond to some challenges to their human rights. We really hope people will forge a connection with the folks that we're featuring in these films but also feel inspired and get some context for what kind of human rights challenges people are facing today."

The exhibit will run until the fall in the Expressions gallery on Level 6. There is also an opportunity to view some of these stories online here.