Renowned human rights activist to give free public talk at Okanagan College

By College Relations | January 29, 2018
           

Okanagan College Media Release

For more than 30 years, Rick Sauvé has dedicated his life to improving the recognition of prisoners as rights-bearing citizens – a life’s mission he stumbled upon while serving 17 years in prison for murder.

Sauvé is a former inmate turned internationally recognized human rights activist and will be coming to Okanagan College campuses in Kelowna and Vernon to share his compelling story in a series of upcoming free presentations.

During his time in prison, Sauvé quickly found out that as an inmate he was unable to vote. He turned to academics in hopes of becoming more knowledgeable on human rights and prisoner issues and went on to achieve a high school standing and two degrees in criminology and psychology.

While imprisoned, Sauvé successfully challenged the Supreme Court of Canada on an inmate’s right to vote, arguing that prisoners still remain citizens in a democratic society and thereby have the right to vote.

Sauvé’s ground-breaking activist work over the past decades led him to receive the 2017 Ed McIsaac Human Rights in Corrections Award in Ottawa last December. He is the ninth person to receive the award.

Sauvé will present at the Kelowna campus on Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. in the Lecture Theatre and again at the Vernon campus on Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. in the Lecture Theatre. The public is invited to attend this free event and parking is complimentary. 

 





TOP STORIES

RELATED STORIES

Sign up for weekly stories




Trending

Communications student standing outside the Centre for Learning building at the Kelowna campus
Meet Ruth Gabriela Melo Flores

April 4, 2023

Q: What's your name? A: Ruth Gabriela Melo Flores Q: What's your hometown? A: Quito – Ecuador – South America Q: How did you end up at Okanagan College? A: Well, I studied for a bachelor's degree in Law in Ecuador. Then, I worked for a while and got my Master's degree in Government and Culture of Organizations at the University of Pamplona.  When I returned to my country, professional opportunities arose for me. I mean, a Master's degree improved my career. Spain helped ...

Read more...
Animation student
Artistic students design future careers in animation

June 7, 2022

Grads of Okanagan College’s Animation Diploma program are finding their skills have never been in higher demand. First- and second-year students showed samples of their artwork and demo reels to industry partners at OC’s annual Animation Industry Night on May 17. “Lots of the work was very professional,” says James Wood, Chair of Okanagan College’s Animation Department. “Our program is short, but intense. The instructors make sure the students have a realistic understanding of what they need do to succeed in a competitive and demanding...

Read more...
JAMK campus
OC Business students embrace international study again

May 30, 2022

Business students from Okanagan College are once again able to travel to Jyväskylä, Finland to experience an international summer school at the JAMK University of Applied Sciences.  Finland’s education system is widely regarded as one of the best in the world.  OC Business Professor Blair Baldwin, who has taught Services Design at JAMK for several summers, says working in Finland has helped him innovate and create new teaching methodologies. “JAMK employs experiential learning across its curriculum,” he says. “They stress cri...

Read more...
Enactus 2022
Enactus Okanagan College tops the field, sets sights on national championships

May 27, 2022

Okanagan College students will once again be competing for the Canadian title after qualifying for the Enactus National Exposition with a first-place finish in their league during the semi-final round. Enactus teams at post-secondary institutions across Canada competed virtually earlier this month, and Okanagan College scooped up top position in the TD Entrepreneurship Challenge, and runner-up in the Scotiabank Climate Action Challenge for the Unusually Good Food Co. project. It also included national runner-up in Shaw and RBC accelerator...

Read more...