BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner (BCOHRC) is hosting a virtual screening of a new “I love my human rights” video story featuring Vancouver’s Brandon Yan, in celebration of Asian Heritage Month.
This video is the latest in a series BCOHRC is producing as part of our mandate to educate British Columbians about systemic discrimination and how to eliminate it. Our “I love my human rights” project uses video storytelling as a tool to help personalize complex human rights concepts and encourage empathy and action. The video will be released to the public following the screening, with more to follow.
“Our Office is excited to celebrate Asian Heritage Month by launching this powerful human rights video,” said B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender.
“Our ‘I love my human rights’ storytelling project grew from the idea that it’s much harder to cling to stereotypes, biases or hateful views of others when we can understand and relate to their stories,” says Commissioner Govender. “Empathy and emotional connection can be powerful corrosive agents against hate and discrimination.”
Yan is the Executive Director of Out On Screen, a B.C. film and education non-profit that produces the Vancouver Queer Film Festival, and Out In Schools. In the video, he shares his experience grappling with his identity as a queer man of mixed Chinese-White heritage—including the discrimination he has faced and the happiness he has found.
Following the screening, Yan will speak to his experiences and participate in a conversation about issues of anti-Asian hate, racism and white supremacy, homophobia and the power of advocacy and queer joy.
“Understanding white supremacy and internalized racism is key to not only supporting oneself but also other communities we need to stand in solidarity with,” Yan said.
The “I love my human rights” watch party will take place on BCOHRC’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/humanrights4BC) on Wednesday, May 26, at 3 p.m. PDT. B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender will be on hand to introduce the project. Viewers do not need to have a Facebook account to watch the event.
Asian Heritage Month was designated by the federal government in 2002 and is observed across Canada each May. It provides an opportunity to recognize the cultural heritage and significant contributions of Canadians with East Asian, South Asian, Western, Central and Southeast Asian heritage.
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Event details
Date: Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Time: 3:00 – 3:30 p.m. PDT
Method: Virtual, via Facebook Live
How to join the event:
- Click here to RSVP for the event if you have a Facebook account. If you don’t have a Facebook account, simply bookmark the page for later.
- If you need to join the event via toll-free phone number instead of through Facebook Live: Call 1-855-703-8985 at 3 p.m. on May 26, When the voice prompts you for a Meeting ID, enter 040865#. When the voice prompts you for a Participant ID, just enter #.
Media contact
For more information about this watch party or “I love my human rights” project contact Elaine O’Connor, Acting Director, Communications, at or 1-250-216-4534.
Media kit
Download our media kit for images of Commissioner Kasari Govender.
About the “I love my human rights” series
BCOHRC’s “I love my human rights” project is a multi-year series that uses video storytelling as a tool to help personalize complex human rights concepts and encourage empathy and action. The series title was inspired by one of our first video storytellers, B.C. artist and self-advocate Teresa Pocock, who in 2014 created the slogan for her successful public campaign to defend her right to choose where she lived. BCOHRC is producing the series as part of our mandate to educate British Columbians about systemic discrimination and how to eliminate it. Updates about the series, including new video releases and launch events, will be posted to the bchumanrights.ca website.
About BCOHRC
BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner exists to address the root causes of inequality, discrimination and injustice in B.C. by shifting laws, policies, practices and cultures. We do this work through education, research, advocacy, inquiry and monitoring. Learn more at: bchumanrights.ca
About the Commissioner
B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner, Kasari Govender, started her five-year term on Sept. 3, 2019. Since then, our Office has been working swiftly to build a strong team, to listen deeply to the concerns of British Columbians, to deliver education materials on our rights and responsibilities, to issue policy guidance to protect marginalized communities and to lay a human rights-based foundation for our work. As an independent officer of the Legislature, the Commissioner is uniquely positioned to ensure human rights in B.C. are protected, respected and advanced on a systemic level throughout our society.
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