Connect Create Communicate 2016

October 20-21, 2016
Toronto, ON

LawConnect Ontario is partnering with The Action Group on Access to Justice to present Connect, Create, Communicate: Public Legal Education and the Access to Justice Movement, a conference on October 20-21 in Toronto.

This conference is open to legal professionals, community workers, students, and other people working in access to justice and doing public legal education and information (PLEI).

The program will explore topics such as:

  • Practical and strategic use of technology
  • Cross-sector collaboration and innovative partnerships
  • Public participation in finding access to justice solutions
  • Advancements in public legal education and information
  • Access to justice as a social movement
  • Plain language communication
  • PLEI needs assessments and evaluation
  • Changing relationships between legal experts and the public
  • Training and supporting “go-to” intermediaries

Connect, Create, Communicate is presented in association with CLEO’s PLE Learning Exchange and the Public Legal Education Association of Canada, as part of the Action Group on Access to Justice’s Access to Justice Week.

REGISTER NOW

Call for Proposals: Connect Create Communicate 2016

LawConnect Ontario (a collaboration of Community Legal Education Ontario or CLEO and the Ontario Justice Education Network or OJEN) and The Action Group on Access to Justice (TAG) invite workshops proposals for Connect, Create, Communicate, a conference on public legal education and information (PLEI) and access to justice (A2J). The conference will take place on October 20-21 in Toronto. We welcome participation from interested legal professionals, community workers, students, and other people working in access to justice and doing PLEI.

The program will offer a mix of plenary sessions and smaller break-out workshops. Through the workshops, we aim to offer participants opportunities for thought-provoking discussion and practical learning. We are inviting short proposals for workshops that:

  • introduce participants to new ideas or different skills
  • are engaging and interactive
  • are practical

We expect that between 30-60 people will be in attendance at each workshop. Each workshop will last for approximately 75 minutes. All conference attendees including presenters are expected to register for the conference.

All proposals must align with the core themes of the conference. These include:

CONNECTING

  • Reaching and engaging the public
  • Working with non-traditional partners for PLEI and A2J
  • Training and working with “go-to” intermediaries
  • Sharing new developments from research relating to PLEI or A2J
  • The practical and strategic use of technology

CREATING

  • Developing PLEI with and for hard-to-reach audiences
  • Understanding the need: assessing needs and learning from evaluations
  • Finding support and partners for new projects
  • Working with volunteers
  • Access to justice as a social movement
  • Rethinking legal education to support PLE and A2J

COMMUNICATING

  • Communicating in plain language
  • Public participation in finding access to justice solutions
  • Building public awareness of access to justice and the legal system
  • Working with the digital divide
  • Changing relationships between legal experts and the public

All proposals must be submitted using the web form by 6pm on Monday, June 27, 2016.

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL NOW

Questions / comments: info@lawconnectontario.ca.

ETA: Our thanks to all who submitted proposals. We will notify all applicants of our decisions by August 5.

Venue and Accommodations

Connect Create Communicate will be held at the Chestnut Conference Center, which is conveniently located in downtown Toronto. The Center is fully accessible and easy to reach by public transit. Paid parking is available on site.

There are many options for nearby accommodation. Some of the more convenient options include the DoubleTree Hilton Toronto Downtown, the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, the Hilton Toronto, or the Bond Place Hotel. Many more options within a short walking distance or streetcar ride may be available via Hotwire or Airbnb.