Dec 17, 2013
Vancouver, BC – Langara is proud to announce that Indira Prahst, the College’s Chair of Sociology and Anthropology, has been recognized with the Renate Shearer Award by the United Nations Association of Canada and the BC Human Rights Coalition.
Prahst was honoured at a ceremony on December 11 at Vancouver Community College commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The award was presented in recognition of her “exemplary commitment as an advocate, activist, and educator on challenges related to intercultural and intergenerational issues in the South Asian community of British Columbia.”
“I feel very honoured to be nominated this year for the Renate Shearer Award, and I accept it with great humility and responsibility,” Prahst said during her acceptance speech. “This award is a symbol of a collective effort which could not be possible without the community support and support from my department at Langara.”
The Renate Shearer Award is presented annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution in the field of human rights. The award is a memorial to the life and work of Renate Shearer, a social service worker and UBC instructor who was a champion of equality and dignity. Prahst’s advocacy includes working against structures of inequality, racism, historical atrocity, and violence against women, as well as steering youth away from gang culture.
“In solidarity and exemplified by Renate's legacy, let us continue to work together to draw attention to the fact that violations of basic human rights continue to be a local and global reality,” Prahst added. Let us continue to be a strong force of resistance against structures that put profit before human life. And let us move forward in the spirit of hope in the continued struggle for preserving human rights – because life matters.”
Media Contact:
Annie Mullins
Communications Officer
Langara College
604.323.5058 | amullins@langara.bc.ca
Prahst was honoured at a ceremony on December 11 at Vancouver Community College commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The award was presented in recognition of her “exemplary commitment as an advocate, activist, and educator on challenges related to intercultural and intergenerational issues in the South Asian community of British Columbia.”
“I feel very honoured to be nominated this year for the Renate Shearer Award, and I accept it with great humility and responsibility,” Prahst said during her acceptance speech. “This award is a symbol of a collective effort which could not be possible without the community support and support from my department at Langara.”
The Renate Shearer Award is presented annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution in the field of human rights. The award is a memorial to the life and work of Renate Shearer, a social service worker and UBC instructor who was a champion of equality and dignity. Prahst’s advocacy includes working against structures of inequality, racism, historical atrocity, and violence against women, as well as steering youth away from gang culture.
“In solidarity and exemplified by Renate's legacy, let us continue to work together to draw attention to the fact that violations of basic human rights continue to be a local and global reality,” Prahst added. Let us continue to be a strong force of resistance against structures that put profit before human life. And let us move forward in the spirit of hope in the continued struggle for preserving human rights – because life matters.”
Media Contact:
Annie Mullins
Communications Officer
Langara College
604.323.5058 | amullins@langara.bc.ca