The Montgomery County Office of Human Rights (OHR) will celebrate Human Rights Day on December 10, from 8:30 a.m. to noon, with a program at the Silver Spring Civic Building, located at One Veterans Place. The event is part of OHR’s year-long commemoration of the Montgomery County Human Rights Commission’s 50th anniversary.

Following the opening program, featuring presentations and remarks by local and State leaders, participants will have an opportunity to take part in small discussion groups that will explore and discuss the various presentations, including education, housing/human services, and religion, public safety and business issues for new Americans. Individuals can offer their perspectives on any progress and opportunities for continued improvement.

“We will use the occasion to do an assessment on the progress made in the last 12 years to become a more multicultural county,” said OHR Director James Stowe. “Our theme in 1998 was ‘Walking the Walk’ and in 1999, ‘We Are Not There Yet.’ More than 10 years later, this year’s theme, ‘Are We There Now?’ asks what progress has been made in forging the future of a multicultural Montgomery County.”

Human Rights Day is celebrated annually around the world on December 10. It was on that date in 1948 that the United Nations’ General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – the first global enunciation of human rights.

For more information about the event, call Kimberly Ham at 240-777-8478.