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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.

Mock Hearings

A mock hearing is a simulation of a real legal hearing where students play the roles of lawyers, the accused, the complainant, witnesses, and more. Each side works together to prepare for their hearing, where they’ll use a mix of law, facts, and strategy to make their case. Mock hearings are one of the most […]

Justice 101 Workshops

Justice 101 workshops are designed to introduce common legal issues to hard to reach youth. Groups that have benefited from Justice 101 Workshops include: Newcomer youth Francophone youth First Nations, Metis and Inuit youth Youth from Toronto’s Neighbourhood Improvement Areas Youth in alternative schools. Justice 101 workshops are facilitated by a range of justice sector […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

Film Screenings

We work with filmmakers and local theatres to bring your students the opportunity to see new documentaries that take on important legal issues. Often our film screenings are followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker, the subject of the film, or other experts. Film screenings are a great way to engage your students in discussions […]

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