Starting an OJEN committee

Who do you need on a local OJEN committee?

OJEN committees provide opportunities for members of the legal, education and community sectors to come together and plan justice education activities for young people in their communities. Because these events typically take place in schools or involve young people who are engaged in school or community organizations, it is important to have representatives from these sectors around the table when planning events. The smallest OJEN committees have at least 4 members, one of whom should be a teacher, school administrator or local school board official. 

Common members of OJEN committees include: lawyers, judges, justices of the peace, trial coordinators, judicial secretaries, teachers (particularly those who teach law and civics), school administrators, school board officials, law school students, law school professors, Legal Aid Clinic staff, law librarians, police, youth workers (and other community organization staff members), etc.

Ideally, all of the different local school boards (public, Catholic, French, private, etc.) should have a representative on the committee, as they can liaise with board administration and other teachers within their own boards.

Many of the existing OJEN committees were spearheaded by a local judge of the Ontario Court of Justice or the Superior Court of Justice, who became the first committee chairs. Some of these committees have since opted for a co-chair model where this duty is shared between representatives from both the justice and education sectors. OJEN’s own Board of Directors uses this co-chair model and strongly recommends it.

How do you start a local OJEN committee?

1. Identify members of the judiciary who are involved in or interested in justice education. Involvement from a judge of the Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Justice, and/or a justice of the peace, can be very important when starting a new program, as they may be able to help secure space and support from the local courthouse.

2. Contact local school boards (public, Catholic and French) and local private schools. Many school boards have a senior staff person who oversees the History or Canadian and World Studies curriculum, and identifies and disseminates resources and ideas to classroom teachers. Department heads, principals and classroom teachers also lend valuable perspectives. Input from experienced educators helps ensure that a committee’s planned justice education activities are relevant and engaging for students.

3. Invite other people who have shown an interest in justice education to join the first Committee meeting. Remember that the private criminal bar and the civil bar have enthusiasm and ideas that can easily be overlooked if the committee focuses only on courthouse-based staff and lawyers.

4. Bring people together to plan one initial justice education activity (to give the group a project and shared goal to focus on), but be prepared to invite the group to share ideas for future justice education projects that are based on local need. 

5. OJEN staff can assist with this process. We can help you plan the first few committee meetings, share ideas for an initial justice education activity and put you in touch with teachers, justice sector professionals and community workers we know in your area.

What are the roles on an OJEN committee?

The most successful OJEN committees have clearly defined roles and responsibilities for their members. After working with 16 different OJEN committees over the last 18 years, we recommend recruiting volunteers to fill the following positions:            

Committee Chair 

• Oversees the work of the committee, assigning tasks and responsibilities, as needed
• Prepares meeting agendas (with secretary) and chairs committee meetings
• Acts as a key contact between the committee and the OJEN provincial office, especially when raising funds for the committee’s justice education events
• Ideally, this position is shared by co-chairs, with a representative from the legal sector and a representative from the education or community sector (OJEN’s Board of Directors uses this model)
• If your committee decides against a co-chair model, we recommend creating a vice-chair role. This person stands in for the chair, as needed, and is the presumptive future chair of the committee when the chair steps down. 
• You should establish a term limit for this position. On the OJEN Board of Directors, terms are 3 years in length, and no one serves more than 2 terms.

Secretary

• Working with the chair, drafts and distributes agendas for committee meetings
• Takes minutes at committee meetings and circulates them afterwards
• Maintains a list of active committee members and email addresses

Communications Liaison

• Acts as a liaison between the committee and OJEN’s communications team at the provincial office, sharing occasional updates on local activities and photos taken at committee-run events
• Manages the committee’s social media (twitter account, if applicable) and works with OJEN’s communications team to update the committee’s webpage on the OJEN website 

A Note about subcommittees    

As your committee begins to take on multiple justice education projects, you may wish to organize subcommittees to facilitate these specific initiatives. For example, Law Day and Access to Justice Week events are often planned by a dedicated subcommittee, as are local mock trial competitions and Law Institutes. 

For each subcommittee, member roles will vary according to the nature of the activity. In general, it is helpful to have a range of professionals involved, so that roles can be assigned to committee members according to their strengths and expertise. 

Subcommittees will often meet and plan their activities outside of OJEN committee meetings, designating a member who is responsible for providing subcommittee updates at the main committee meetings.

Next: OJEN committee meetings

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