About 150 people gathered at the future site of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to celebrate International Women's Day Sunday.
They wrote messages of hope and change on make shift bricks, celebrating that women of the world have come a long way over the past century, but highlighting there is still more work to do.
"We want to raise the question about whose stories are going to be included in the museum and how will they be written," organizer Roewan Crowe told CTV News.
"There are so many things that are happening right now that affect women's lives [including] de-funding shelters for abused women."
Crowe hopes the Canadian Museum for Human Rights will showcase stories about aboriginal women, immigrant and refugee women, as well as the stories of the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community.
18-year old Shimby Zegeye supports the idea. She says Canadian immigrant women face many challenges.
"They usually get the lower class work, a lot of factory work and things of that nature, even though they might be qualified for things that are a lot higher," she said.
Cheryl-Anne Carr attended the event to remember the more than 500 missing or murdered aboriginal women in Canada.
"We have a lot to say, a lot to contribute, and to join with our sisters of all nationalities and of all parts of the spectrum is very important for us to get our own message and our own story across," she said.
Her message resonates with this year's international theme: Ending Violence Against Women and Girls.
Sunday's event marked the 100th annual International Women's Day.
With a report from CTV's Shaneen Robinson
