Advocacy

“Citizenship is the chance to make a difference in the place where you belong”

– Charles Handy

The field of education is a vast community of students, staff, parents, and more that we get to be a part of. This shared space gives us the perfect opportunity to advocate for positive change.
Many organizations are working to advance advocacy on a wide range of educational issues, encouraging active citizenship at all levels. Below are a few resources to help begin your advocacy journey.

Citizenship & Advocacy

A book on how to foster community through active citizenship

A citizen future:

Jon Alexander, author of Citizens, proposes that the collective is far smarter than the individual. By working together to foster our community we create opportunities for each of us to transform from consumers to citizens.

A podcast to empower people to be active citizens

How to “Citizen”:

Baratunde Thurston reimagines what it means to be a citizen, using it as a verb to remind of us our collective power. Their podcast covers the four pillars of citizen, exploring participation, relationships, power, and collective value.

Advocacy Organizations & Campaigns

Four Our Kids:

Families taking action for the environment

Check out their amazing projects including Hot Classrooms, Cool Solutions: A Call to Action for Healthy Schools.

An educational advocacy group that works with school communities to make change

In partnership with the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment

Four Our Kids released a 2024 report Polluting Education which uncovers the real impacts of fossil fuels on childeren’s education in Canada.

An organizations with resources, reports, and advocacy initiatives

EEON:

Environmental Education Ontario

They have a weatlh of resources, reports, and advocacy initiatives to delve into revolving are environment, education, and policy.
See their other projects here.

An advocacy project that pushes pension plans to divest from environmentally damaging organizations

ShiftOTPP:

Action for pention wealth and planet health

ShiftOTPP monitors climate-related investments of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) and works to protect pensions and the climate. Learn more about their work here.

Shake Up The Establishment:

A bank of resources & a network for young climate advocates

Shake Up The Establishment has a wealth of articles, podcasts, and information on environmental justice in Canada. Additionally they are the parent organization of Infiltrate The System, a network of youth climate activists. Learn more & follow along with their work here.

See our resources page for other advocacy topics, intiatives, and leaders