Media Advisory & Photo Opportunity: Astronaut Chris Hadfield, More Than 3,500 Students to Celebrate Freedom Day at Yonge-Dundas Square

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 24, 2013) - Canadian Astronaut and hero Chris Hadfield will join more than 3,500 students to celebrate The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) Freedom Day event at Toronto's Yonge-Dundas Square on Wednesday, September 25.

Freedom Day was created to encourage students to celebrate Canadian rights and freedoms, commemorate the life and legacy of Simon Wiesenthal, raise awareness about human rights issues, and empower youth to raise their voices and take action to make the world a better place.

Chris Alexander, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, will join Chris Hadfield in speaking at Freedom Day. They will both participate in a ribbon cutting ceremony for FSWC's innovative Tour for Humanity project - a fully accessible Mobile Tolerance Education Center that will tour the province and bring FSWC's educational programs to students and communities outside the GTA.

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is a leading Canadian non-profit human rights foundation directly representing over 30,000 members. FSWC is committed to countering racism and antisemitism and to promoting the principles of tolerance, social justice and Canadian democratic values through advocacy and educational programs including workshops, Freedom Day, Spirit of Hope Benefit, Tools for Tolerance and its widely acclaimed new Tour for Humanity. Visit us at www.fswc.ca.

FSWC is affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization headquartered in Los Angeles, which has won two Academy Awards, has built two Museums of Tolerance (with a third being built in Jerusalem) and is an NGO at the United Nations, UNESCO, OAS, OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament.