Signatures to Stop Ecocide
High School Open Letter Competition
The Signatures to Stop Ecocide contest is an initiative by Stop Ecocide Toronto for any interested highschools in the GTA.
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Context: Our Open Letter to the Canadian Government was launched in the summer of 2022. It is a call from young people living across the country to our federal government. It asks the government to support an international crime of ecocide. Specifically, the global Stop Ecocide movement advocates for ecocide to be the 5th international crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Canada is a member of the ICC, so Stop Ecocide Toronto and Stop Ecocide Canada advocate for Canada to vote in favor of this crime when it is eventually proposed to the court’s Assembly of State Parties.
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Contest: Participating students, clubs, and schools are encouraged to gather signatures for this Open Letter to the Canadian government. From now until April 1st, 2023, Toronto highschool students can sign the Open Letter and list their highschool under ‘institution.’ After April 1st, the school with the greatest number of signatories will be declared the winner.
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Winning Institution: Stop Ecocide Toronto will then work with the school to organize an event, during which an federal Member of Parliament (MP) will meet with students, hear about their environmental policy priorities, and answer any questions they might have about Canadian politics. This meeting will not focus on the Stop Ecocide movement, but will be a chance for socially engaged students of the school that put the most effort into getting signatures for this environmental open letter to learn more about environmental hope, solutions, and political pathways to change.
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Goals:
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To educate high school students about the Stop Ecocide movement and its potential to advance environmental protection.
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To connect and engage high school students with the political process in Canada, specifically with regards to environmental policy making.
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ALTERNATIVE FORMAT FOR ACCESSIBILITY: Video introduction to the Signatures to Stop Ecocide Competition here.
