Justice Education Projects
Justice education is based on the idea that law is a part of everyone’s life. Everyone has the right to understand it and to participate in the legal processes that affect them. To do that, they need knowledge about the law, including where to get reliable information and affordable help. But they also need skills – patience, persistence, keeping calm during conflict, and presenting facts or ideas in an orderly way.
The only way to build a skill is to practice!
OJEN’s justice education projects help youth across Ontario learn about the law and develop the skills they need to manage legal issues they will face in life. When a community group or social agency contacts us, we work with them to choose a project that’s a good fit for their youth. We can recruit a facilitator to run the program or a lawyer, judge, or paralegal to come and provide the legal information. Our projects typically run for 3-6 sessions, which gives youth a chance to learn and improve over time. It also means that they get more time and attention from our volunteers.
Check out the justice education project models below to learn more.
The Braiding Diversity Founders Scholarship
The Waterloo Committee established the Braiding Diversity Founders Scholarship to support the success of Braiding Diversity into Justice program participants. The scholarship is available to any grade 12 or post-secondary student in Ontario, pursuing post-secondary studies related to the many careers in the justice system at an Ontario university or college. The applicant must be […]
Kingston Youth-Police Dialogue
The OJEN Youth-Police Dialogue (YPD) program is an interactive justice education series designed to promote positive interactions, build knowledge, challenge perceptions and enhance skills to foster greater relations between youth and police in communities across Ontario. Over the course of this project, youth will meet with Youth Police Dialogue Facilitators, police officers, and lawyers to […]
Legal Leaders Workshops for Newcomer Youth
Newcomers often experience unique legal challenges. Faced with unfamiliar laws and legal processes, and potentially unaware of their legal rights or mechanisms for enforcement, many newcomers also experience language barriers when seeking access to legal help. Newcomer youth often have a special and trusted relationship with their parents and other adult family members. They speak […]
Everyday Law Workshops
Everyday Law uses simplified classroom activities to introduce legal concepts to young people in an accessible way. Because they were originally developed for Ontario’s Grade 11 Workplace level law course (CLU3E), they are easily adapted for use in community or ESL contexts. When we run Everyday Law workshops, we connect the audience with a legal […]
Law Symposiums
An OJEN Law Symposium is a day-long educational event for high school students, which is hosted by a local high school, college or university. Law Symposiums feature multiple workshops on a range of legal topics, facilitated by lawyers, professors and other justice sector professionals. Law Symposiums are a unique opportunity for students from multiple high […]
Family Law for Young Parents
OJEN’s Family Law for Young Parents (FLYP) program helps young parents build a sense of competence and self-determination. This series of workshops address common legal issues that these youth may face in their own lives and introduces them to the relevant laws and legal processes through experiential learning. Over the course of 3-5 sessions, […]
Talking Law Workshops
Talking Law is a series of workshops that teach ESL students about the law. It can be adapted for a range of language levels. The Talking Law series helps ESL students build skills for dealing with legal issues at the same time as developing their vocabulary and confidence. In a Talking Law workshop, a lawyer […]
OJEN on the Air
OJEN on the Air invites students to research a legal topic, interview an expert, and record a radio segment or podcast about their topic. Sometimes, we partner with a local radio station to get students into a professional studio, where recording experts can coach them on their work. But even if you don’t have a […]
Active Citizens
Active Citizens is a flexible program that helps youth build the skills they need to effect change in their communities. Active Citizens contains a set of workshops or modules that you can mix and match to create a program that fits a specific youth audience. With modules that focus on advocacy skills, local issues, and […]
Youth-Police Dialogues
OJEN’s Youth-Police Dialogue programs offer young people a safe, inclusive space to share their perspectives about their neighbourhood and the issues that cause conflict between youth and police. Over 6-8 weekly sessions, lawyers help youth learn about criminal law, build their legal capability, and develop their advocacy skills. Youth participants practice framing their ideas and […]
- 1
- 2