Each year, OJEN offers Justice Education Fellowships to six law students attending Ontario universities. Chosen for their commitment to social justice and interest in working with youth, Fellows put their passion into practice supporting justice education activities for youth in their communities.
We are pleased to welcome this years’ cohort of students: Nehmat Bedar from the University of Ottawa, Chantelle Hospedales from Osgoode Hall, Tamara Kljakic from Western University, Alisha Li from the University of Toronto, Parmpreet Rai from Lakehead University, and Harpreet Singh from Queen’s University.
Over the summer, they met virtually for four intensive virtual training sessions. They learned about OJEN’s philosophy of justice education, program and resource delivery and adapting program facilitation to the online environment.
The COVID situation has presented new challenges to delivering classroom lessons and community-based programs. As a result, this years’ Fellows program has undergone some changes. Whereas in previous years, program delivery was an important aspect of Fellows responsibilities, the current situation has made in-person programming impossible, at least for the moment. As we endeavor to make justice education activities accessible remotely, Fellows are contributing to our efforts by adapting programs to an online model. Each Fellow has chosen one program for modification. Six programs will become available for remote delivery throughout Ontario, including: the Access to Justice Game, Street Checks, Justice 101, Journey to a Career in Law and Steps to Justice workshops.
Fellows will also work with OJEN staff to develop one new teaching resource to add to our online library.
Watch for more information about our remote justice education programs in next month’s Dialogue newsletter.