When Halton OJEN Committee Chair, Inga Andriessen, heard that lawyers from a local law firm had been granted leave to argue a case at the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC), she recognized the rare learning opportunity it presented for local high school students. She arranged with the lawyers involved to address Halton area law classes by […]
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The Durham Committee’s annual Law Day event has been a popular program for Grade 5 classes for many years. When the Covid-19 pandemic made in-person activities at the Durham Region Courthouse impossible, the Durham committee successfully adapted the event to deliver it virtually. This year, they delivered the program twice on Wednesday, April 20th, including […]
“I have found that schools, classrooms and student activities are some of the best places to learn from and about other communities.” The judiciary has played a vital role in the establishment and ongoing success of OJEN throughout our 20 year history. Justice Patricia Hennessy of the Superior Court of Justice has championed justice education […]
During National Volunteer Week, April 24 – 30, we salute the thousands of volunteers who have contributed so much to OJEN’s success since our launch 20 years ago. We began in 2002 with a mission to promote understanding, education, and dialogue to support a responsive and inclusive justice system. With minimal staff and a shoestring […]
I learned the value of justice education, specifically, the ways in which it can empower young people. Amanda Cutinha was a student at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law when she was accepted into OJEN’s Justice Education Fellowship program in 2019. OJEN’s Fellowships are year-long placements in which students receive in-depth training in public […]
By Zoë Paddock In December 2021, OJEN wrapped up the pilot for the new iteration of the Family Law for Young Parents (FLYP) program, funded through a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. It was delivered to 2 community partners in Hamilton. One program with St. Martin’s Manor ran as a hybrid model, both virtually […]
Registration is open for Braiding Diversity into Justice, an online event for diverse young women in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. This ½ day activity takes place on March 31, 2022 from 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. Offered by the Waterloo OJEN Committee, Braiding Diversity into Justice connects marginalized and/or racialized young women with women working in the […]
The final hearing of Défi de la Charte took place as planned on Monday, January 31, 2022! It was awesome and… it ended with a big surprise! See for yourself : The finalists were Winston Fournier from ESC Saint Charles Garnier in Whitby on the one hand and Gabrielle La Touche and Anna Licu from […]
“Justice education is a pillar for social change.” – Nikisha Browne Niki graduated from Cathedral High School in Hamilton in 2016. As a student in grades 11 and 12, she participated in several of OJEN’s school-based programs including Mock Trials, Twitter Moots and Sistahs in Law: Paving the Way. While in high school, Niki wrote […]
Dear friends of OJEN, At the end of another challenging year, it’s nice to have some good news to share. OJEN is having a birthday! In 2022 we celebrate 20 years of building legal capability in young people. For the last two decades we’ve worked hard to form connections between people who work in the […]
OJEN connects with a wide range of vulnerable youth audiences through partnerships with community organizations throughout Ontario. Outreach programming focuses on experiential learning and providing the legal life skills to navigate common legal issues. Ordinarily offered as in-person sessions, the Covid-19 pandemic made it necessary to re-design several existing programs and adapt them for remote […]
