At SoChange, we believe that a broad understanding of world issues is essential to eliciting widespread change. Visit the websites below to gain some insight on a variety of social justice perspectives.
It’s easy to feel poor, until you consider it from a global perspective. Check out this neat website to see how well to do you are in relation to the rest of the world.
Website that records real-time statistics regarding various environmental and social issues. Great for stats gurus, as well as those of us who just want to feel a little bit smarter – just be careful not to make it your main source for pickup lines.
www.makepovertyhistory.ca
Official website of the social justice campaign that has captured the attention of so many average Canadians since 2005. “Make Poverty History” seeks to empower individuals to take action on issues such as trade justice, debt cancellation, and development aid.
www.treecanada.ca
Founded in 1992, “Tree Canada” mobilizes volunteers from across the country to plant trees, with the overall goal of countering harmful CO2 emissions.
www.whiteband.org
Feel like making a fashion statement? The “white band” is a symbol that unites supporters of the “Global Call to Action Against Poverty” (GCAP), a coalition of organizations and individuals that aims to influence policies that affect world poverty.
www.echoinggreen.org
Tired of hearing about naïve, unpractical attempts at tackling issues of injustice? “Echoing Green” is an organization that promotes social entrepreneurship as a solution to political, economic and environmental inequalities.
www.globalaware.net
Instead of acting as a voice of the common person, sometimes it seems as if mainstream media is a mouthpiece of the rich and influential. The “GlobalAware Independent Media Organization” seeks to change this status-quo, uniting alternative media with the intention of addressing social justice issues.
www.socialjustice.org
By uniting entities as varied as universities, faith-based groups and unions, the “Centre for Social Justice” seeks to draw attention to issues of inequality and underrepresentation from a variety of perspectives.
www.one.org
“ONE” is an ambitious organization that lobbies world leaders to adopt policies that address poverty. It’s broad global membership of people from all walks of life – ranging from powerful business leaders to creative journalists – allows it to incite real change by tackling macro-level issues.
www.spreadthenet.org
Some problems of global poverty and injustice necessitate complex solutions; others are addressed surprisingly easily. The “Spread the Net” campaign, spearheaded by Canadian activists Rick Mercer and Belinda Stronach, seeks to demonstrate how the devastating effects of malaria can be mitigated by the mere provision of $10 mosquito nets.
www.amnesty.ca
Since 1961, “Amnesty International” has been a leading advocacy organization for those who don’t get listened to otherwise. Its ambitious goal is to ensure that every person enjoys the rights entrenched in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with emphasis placed on victims of torture and political violence.
www.storyofstuff.com
As well as being at the heart of many of the environmental and social ills of our society, overconsumption is also firmly engrained in the identity of many Westerners. This site, headlined by a video featuring activist Annie Leonard, also contains valuable lifestyle tips on how to become less dependent on “stuff”.
Service offered by social action network “Change.org”, that offers affordable, customizable web-hosting space and consulting to nonprofit organizations.