Who are we?
Educonnexion, formerly known as Social Justice Connection, is an independent and apolitical charitable organization, founded in 1976 and which specializes in citizen participation. Through its training activities and innovative projects, Educonnexion supports individuals and organizations wishing to build a more just, ecological, and united world in order to strenghten their power of action.
Over the years, the organization has built a solid reputation in the community of civic engagement, as well as recognized expertise in global citizenship education (GCE). Its teams work with various actors and actresses: young people and committed citizens, educators, teachers and parents, as well as community organizations, cooperators and government institutions.
Educonnexion is supported by the Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie and is a member of the Quebec Association of International Cooperation Organizations (AQOCI).
What do we do?
Our interventions are deployed through three fields of action which aim to develop both motivation and commitment (want to act), critical knowledge and skills (know how to act), as well as capacities (power to act) of individuals and organizations to lead positive and lasting changes at different scales, from local to international.
- Training
We offer tailor-made workshops and training courses targeting diverse communities, ranging from young people and engaged citizens to teachers, parents, and international cooperants. These workshops and training courses raise awareness or dissect complex issues, offer concrete tools to act, or even provide the opportunity to orient yourself and find your place.
- Coaching and Consulting
We support community and international cooperation organizations as well as government institutions to strengthen their educational approaches and engagement and impact strategies, all with a view to transforming practices and systems in the long term.
- Projects
We participate in various initiatives in Quebec and abroad that aim to strengthen citizen and/or institutional capacities while promoting a culture of engagement. Projects sometimes serve to target glaring issues, sometimes to respond to dynamics affecting an entire environment and requiring deeper action.
In short, all of these actions help to release and strengthen the power to act of individuals and communities, as well as the capacity to resolve the social and environmental challenges at the heart of their concerns and aspirations.
Contributing to building a more just and ecological society and world where each individual and community can deploy their full potential is a daily life for us.
Our Approach
Through our actions, we aim to promote the exercise of active and responsible citizenship, bringing social and environmental justice. In this holistic vision of citizen action, we consider that a positive commitment to the world is built through the pursuit of commitment to oneself, one’s loved ones, one’s community, one’s culture and one’s society.
Strenghtening our power of action involves acquiring skills, tools and strategies for action, and boosting engagement and participation. Also, it is sometimes a question of healing or untying psychological or social chains that prevent regaining power over oneself and commitment to others. Our training and initiatives specifically target these elements. Strengthening the power of action also means recognizing and acting accordingly to the inequalities and obstacles or specific conditions experienced by each person and community.
Our approach and these considerations are reflected in the way we build our workshops and our projects, in the choice of them and our partners, all while paying attention to the different spheres of engagement and levers of citizen power.
A Little History
The origins of Educonnect date back to 1975, when Father Ernest Schibbli, with the support of a group of citizens concerned about the social struggles in Central America, founded the Social Justice Committee of Montreal, which was renamed Social Justice Connection (SJC).
In the decades that followed, with the support of hundreds of volunteers, CJS multiplied its actions to raise awareness on a wide range of socio-economic issues affecting human rights, including debt relief for countries in the Global South, reform of the World Bank and IMF, and corporate responsibility.
Through our years of experience, we’ve developed a real expertise in planning and mobilization, as well as in citizen participation. The organization is now better known by the name of what was for a long time its main educational program: Educonnexion.
Educonnexion continues to promote the same values as it did at its inception. It now focuses on training, capacity building and support for individuals and organizations seeking to contribute to a socio-ecological transition conducive of social justice.
We offer tailor-made in-person workshops. Our teams visit schools and organizations that request our services. We adapt our content according to the age of participants.