- Sustainable
Communities Partnership - Community engagement
- Nominate a Concordian
- Living Knowledge
Community engagement
Large and small, Concordia’s community engagement initiatives reach into local neighbourhoods and extend across borders to help people around the world.
Whether social, cultural, financial or environmental, Concordia is committed to effecting positive change. Our efforts are inclusive, drawing on the interests and expertise of faculty, staff and students.
By embracing new and important social priorities in light of rising global concerns, Concordia is able to support local and international communities with projects that are efficient, effective and reflect what really matters to our various communities.
Current Initiatives
Browse the list of initiatives for a more in-depth look at the many ways in which Concordia and the community are working together. The range of activities makes it easy for anyone to find a place to contribute.
Show:
| Initiative | Category/Cause  |
Faculty/Group |
|---|---|---|
| Concordia Community Solidarity Co-op Bookstore | Art and culture / Social justice | Independent, student-run cooperative |
| The Concordia Community Solidarity Co-op Bookstore is an independent, not-for-profit bookstore located on the Concordia University Campus. The Co-op Bookstore is a student initiative, serving the student community as well as the community at large. | ||
| Concordia University Television (CUTV) | Art and culture | Student-funded organization |
| Established in 1969, CUTV is Concordia's campus/community television station. They help students and community members make media that matters. They offer a summer school program for teens. | ||
| Soundteam | Art and culture / Social justice | Working group associated to QPIRG Concordia (independent student-funded organization) |
| Soundteam provides sound services for Montreal area community groups that cannot afford to pay professional rates. Their purpose is to support people’s grassroots initiatives and act in the interests of communities and their struggles for economic and political justice. | ||
| CJLO Radio | Art and culture | Student-funded organization |
| CJLO is Concordia University’s campus radio station, and the only English language radio station in Montreal that offers independent and underground music programming | ||
| La Ruche d'Art | Art and culture / Social justice | Creative Art Therapy, Fine Arts |
| Art Therapy professor Janis Timm-Bottos recently opened her community art studio Saint-Henri. The studio is a free community space that is open to all. | ||
| Art Matters | Art and culture | Student-run Festival / Fine Arts |
| Art Matters is a student-run festival that celebrates the vitality of the multidisciplinary artistic community. The festival promotes the development of emerging talent by creating connections to Montreal’s creative institutions, galleries and artist run centres. After more than a decade of effort from producers, curators, artists and interns, Art Matters has become the largest festival of its kind. | ||
| Cinema Politica Concordia | Art and culture / Social justice | Independent, student-run organization |
| Cinema Politica is a weekly free political film series at Concordia University and now in other universities throughout Canada and abroad. Each semester programming is focused on social justice, environmental and cultural identity issues, and all screenings aim to bridge political independent filmmaking, local activism and civic education and engagement. | ||
| CASA Cares | Community development | Student group (John Molson School of Business) |
| CASA Cares is the non-profit segment of the Commerce and Administration Student Association (CASA) at Concordia's John Molson School of Business. Their mission is to promote social awareness and responsibility within JMSB and encourage students to get actively involved within the Montreal community. They regularly organize fundraisers benefitting local non-profits and charities. | ||
| Annual Toy Drive for the Montreal Children's Hospital | Community development | John Molson School of Business (JMSB) |
| For the past 4 years, JMSB staff, faculty and students have been getting together to gather toy donations for the Montreal Children’s Hospital, just in time for the holidays. | ||
| Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard | Community development | Multi-Faith Chaplaincy |
| Through Mother Hubbard's Cupboard, a vegan meal is served every week in a space open to the community. A great place to meet new people, make friends and have interesting conversations. | ||
| Study in Action | Community development | QPIRG Concordia (independent student-funded organization) |
| Study in Action seeks to foster ties between undergraduate students and the broader Montreal community in order to strengthen the spirit of social and environmental justice, promote undergraduate research, and emphasize links between the two. They organize a conference which acts as a space for undergraduate students to build ties with community organizations. | ||
| Tuck Sports Challenge | Community development | John Molson School of Business (JMSB) |
| For the past 11 years, students and alumni from Concordia’s John Molson School of Business (JMSB) and Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business have been holding soccer and hockey competitions as fundraisers for local charities working to improve health and fight poverty. | ||
| Leadership Initiative and Volunteer Engagement (LIVE) Centre | Community development | Dean of Students Office, Student Services |
| Acting as a liaison service, the LIVE Centre is the on-campus link for community organizations, student groups and departments that seek to recruit volunteers within the Concordia community. | ||
| Experiential & Service learning courses | Community development | School of Extended Learning |
| Experiential and service-learning courses allow students to gain university recognition of practical and hands-on experience. By registering for such courses, they can earn credits for volunteering in community settings. | ||
| MBA Community Service Initiave (CSI) | Community development | John Molson School of Business (JMSB) |
| MBA CSI encourages and promotes community service and links the resources of the JMSB at Concordia University with the needs of communities, organizations, small businesses, institutions and industries. Communities can request volunteer assistance for specific projects and/or provide service opportunities. | ||
| Concordia Rural Research Project | Community development | Arts & Science - Sociology |
| Concordia Rural Research Group is a network of faculty and students interested in rural-related issues, including research directly focused on rural places and research of rural relevance. | ||
| Institute for Community Entrepreneurship and Development (ICED) | Community development / Social justice | John Molson School of Business (JMSB) |
| The mission of ICED is to provide opportunities for members of Aboriginal, ethnic and immigrant communities to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to improve their situation as well as the economic and social conditions in their communities. ICED achieves its mission by engaging key representatives and organizations within these communities, conducting research and providing managerial tools and training that will facilitate social and economic development. | ||
| Centre for Human Relations and Community Studies (CHRCS) | Community development | Arts & Sciences - Applied Human Sciences |
| CHRCS is a community of learners, associated with the Department of Applied Human Sciences, dedicated to improving the quality of the life in human systems. The Centre provides learning experiences, training, consulting, research and publishing services to community members and groups. | ||
| Colors of Concordia | Community development | John Molson School of Business (JMSB) |
| Colors of Concordia encourages and promotes projects that help bring about a greater understanding between cultures. Consisting of students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends, the Colors of Concordia has brought together Concordia University's diverse population. | ||
| Prisoner Correspondence Project | Community development / Social justice | Working group associated to QPIRG Concordia (independent student-funded organization) |
| This collectively-run initiative based out of Concordia coordinates a direct-correspondence program for gay, lesbian, transsexual, transgender, gendervariant, two-spirit, intersex, bisexual and queer inmates in Canada and the United States, linking these inmates with people a part of these same communities outside of prison. | ||
| Youths Leadership Concordia | Empowering youth | Student group (Concordia Student Union) |
| YOUths! is a Montreal non-profit dedicated to empowering youth across the island through hands-on leadership and entrepreneurial training. They recruit students year-round to help deliver many community services, including workshops, project consulting, social events, fundraisers and full-day conferences. | ||
| AIESEC Concordia | Empowering youth | Student group (John Molson School of Business) |
| AIESEC Concordia (originally an acronym for Association Internationale des Étudiants en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales) is the Concordia branch of a global youth organization that develops leadership capabilities through a leadership program and by facilitating international placements with both for profit and non-profit organizations. | ||
| Knowledge Mobilization | Empowering youth | The Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance (CSLP) |
| The CSLP's overall focus is to develop evidenced-based tools and strategies that positively impact prekindergarten to secondary education, postsecondary education, corporations and industry, health and social services and the NGO/community sector. CSLP makes a variety of programs available to the community. For example, the Learning Toolkit contains a interactive software called "ABRACADABRA", which helps young children develop reading skills. | ||
| Frontier College Concordia | Empowering youth / Community development | Student group (Concordia Student Union) |
| Frontier College at Concordia University organizes Reading Circles, Homework Clubs and tutoring in collaboration with community partners. They primarily help underprivileged children and families in Little Burgundy, Lasalle and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. | ||
| ACSioN Network-Concordia University chapter | Empowering youth | Student group (Concordia Student Union) |
| The Concordia University chapter of the African and Caribbean Students' Network of Canada (called ACSioN Network-Concordia for short) organizes regular events, including an 8-week tutoring program in collaboration with the Tyndale St-Georges Community Centre in Little Burgundy. | ||
| Creative Writing Elementary School Program ("Suspicious Fish") | Empowering youth | English and Creative Writing / Arts & Sciences |
| Suspicious Fish is a project in which at-risk students at Verdun Elementary School participate in a weekly after school program animated by undergraduates from Creative Writing programs. | ||
| Sexual Assault Centre Campaign | Empowering youth / Social justice | 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy (student-funded organization) |
| The Sexual Assault Centre Campaign is the driving force behind on-campus consent education initiatives, resource-building around survivor support at the Centre for Gender Advocacy and Concordia University at large, and advocacy on university and community levels. It is their goal to obtain space and financing for a student-run Sexual Assault Centre. | ||
| Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) | Human rights | Student group (Concordia Student Union) |
| SPHR Concordia is the chapter of a non-profit, student-based organization that advocates on a strong social justice platform to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people in the face of human rights violations and all forms of racism, discrimination, misinformation and misrepresentation. They aim to raise awareness, advocate, and support human rights both locally and internationally. | ||
| Media Monitoring Project | Human rights | Montreal Institute For Genocide and Human Rights Studies |
| The Media Monitoring Project staffed by MIGS interns intends to provide early warning of genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and serious war crimes. | ||
| Amnesty International Concordia | Human rights | Student group (Concordia Student Union) |
| The Concordia University group of Amnesty International Canada, participating in local and international activism to increase human rights awareness. | ||
| Will To Intervene Project | Human rights | Montreal Institute For Genocide and Human Rights Studies |
| The Will To Intervene Project is a crucial initiative developed jointly by General Roméo Dallaire and Dr. Frank Chalk spearheading the fight against genocide. | ||
| Journalists for Human Rights Concordia | Human rights | Student group (Concordia Student Union) |
| By mobilizing the media to spread human rights awareness, JHR informs people about their rights, empowering marginalized people to stand up, speak out and protect themselves. | ||
| Montreal Life Stories | Human rights | Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling |
| Life Stories of Montrealers Displaced by War, Genocide, and other Human Rights Violations is an oral history project exploring Montrealers’ experiences and memories of mass violence and displacement. A team of both university and community-based researchers is in the process of recording life story interviews with more than 500 Montreal residents over the next five years. | ||
| Unicef Concordia | Human rights / Empowering youth | Student group (Concordia Student Union) |
| Members of the UNICEF Association at Concordia University work to promote the mandate of UNICEF Canada and its application to the needs of the world's children, by raising awareness, hosting events and fundraisers, etc. on campus. | ||
| Humanitarian Affairs Concordia | Human rights / International development | Student group (Concordia Student Union) |
| Humanitarian Affairs at Concordia University provides learning opportunities and supports humanitarian relief efforts and development programs in countries that are poverty stricken and disaster-prone. | ||
| STAND Concordia | Human rights / Empowering youth | Student group (Concordia Student Union) |
| STAND Concordia is a Chapter of STAND Canada. Since its founding in 2005, STAND has become the leading organization in Canada for youth led anti-genocide advocacy and activism. They help Canada take a lead in stopping genocide in the world. | ||
| Alternative Spring Break (ASB) | International development / Community development | Dean of Students Office, Student Services |
| Concordia's ASB program offers the opportunity for students to participate in a week-long service-learning experience. ASB is a chance for students to learn about different cultures, communities and social issues while working in a very hands-on manner with service organizations. | ||
| Engineers Without Borders Concordia Chapter | International development | Student Group (Engineering and Computer Sciences) |
| Engineers Without Borders fosters an environment in which students and professionals work together to bring simple solutions to the developing world | ||
| Concordia Volunteers Abroad Program | International development | Student-funded organization |
| The Concordia Volunteer Abroad Program (CVAP) is a registered non-profit organization to create avenues for students to provide volunteer services in Gulu District, northern Uganda. | ||
| Concordia International Community Outreach Program (ICOP) | International development | John Molson School of Business (JMSB) |
| ICOP supports JMSB graduate students to volunteer overseas and apply their skills to help communities and businesses in developing countries overcome the many challenges they face. | ||
| Trans Health Advocacy Project | Social justice / Community development | 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy (student-funded organization) |
| The 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy (CGA) advocates for equal access for all trans people to healthcare, housing, employment and community. They provide concrete health resources, information and referral to trans people from the Montreal community. | ||
| Le Frigo Vert | Social justice / Sustainability | Student-funded organization |
| Le Frigo Vert strives to make nutritious, affordable food accessible and provide recipes and info about medicinal herbs, and investigates where and how products are made. The store serves the student population as well as the community at large. | ||
| 5 Days for the Homeless - Concordia Chapter | Social justice | John Molson School of Business (JMSB) |
| Once a year, Concordia students and alumni go homeless, spending 5 days and nights on the street to raise awareness and funds to help underprivileged youths get back on their feet. Money raised support the work of local organization "Dans la Rue". | ||
| Centre for the Arts in Human Development (CAHD) | Social justice | Arts & Sciences |
| CAHD offers a program of creative arts therapies to adults with developmental and related disabilities The Centre offers art therapy, drama therapy, music therapy and dance/movement therapy. | ||
| Certain Days Political Prisoner Calendar Committee | Social justice | Working group associated to QPIRG Concordia (independent student-funded organization) |
| The Certain Days Political Prisoner Calendar Committee works to support, educate about and fundraise for political prisoners through the production of a yearly calendar. | ||
| Community University Research Exchange (CURE) | Social justice | QPIRG Concordia (independent student-funded organization) |
| CURE’s mandate is to broaden the kind of academic work that is available to students and give community organizations, specifically those which experience social and economic marginalization, access to the knowledge and resources circulating in the academic sphere. Students can volunteer to do socially relevant academic research for the benefit of local non-profits. | ||
| Volunteers in Action Concordia | Social justice | Student group (Concordia Student Union) |
| Volunteers in Action (VIA) is at student organization with the mission to encourage community involvement in the Concordia student body through the promotion and facilitation of volunteerism and charity giving. The VIA also aims to educate the Concordia community in issues affecting the globe such as violence, hunger and poverty and get students actively involved in the solutions to theses problems. | ||
| University of the Street's Café | Social justice | Institute for Community Development, School of Extended Learning |
| The University of the Street's Café creates gathering places for community members to pursue learning and engagement through public conversations. | ||
| People’s Potato | Social justice | Student-funded organization |
| The People’s Potato is a vegan soup kitchen at Concordia University - a student initiated project founded in 1999 in order to address student poverty. They offer by donation meals to more than 400 students and community members daily. They are committed to educating about healthy cooking and food politics and to broader goals of social and environmental justice. | ||
| Missing Justice Project | Social justice | 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy (student-funded organization) |
| The collective seeks to consult and collaborate with Indigenous communities and organizations to foster understanding and dispel harmful stereotypes commonly held in regards to Indigenous women who are targets of violence. They work to raise public awareness and create a safer environment for Indigenous women by tackling issues of systemic racism, sexism, classism and negligence that are present in the media, the justice system and police forces. | ||
| TAPThirst Concordia | Sustainability | Working group associated to QPIRG Concordia (independent student-funded organization) |
| TAPThirst (tap drinkers against privatization) is a QPIRG Concordia working group dedicated to promoting awareness of the environmental, health and socioeconomic costs of the privatization of public water and the packaged water industry. They are also committed to promoting awareness on wider issues of water privatization. At Concordia, they have been instrumental in creating a shift towards a bottled water free campus. | ||
