For a eighth consecutive year, the Hispanic Canadian Heritage Council Presents:
HCHC School4Civic Program 2025
For the Hispanic Community
The School4Civic Program is an 8-week program designed for interested persons of the Hispanic / Latin American community who wish to learn more and connect with fellow politicians and civic and political actors. This program will provide an opportunity to learn from the real-life experiences of other professionals.
OBJECTIVE
The School4Civic program aims to increase the visibility of Hispanic Latin American presence within all levels of government. The HCHC is committed to providing a program with the ultimate objective of giving all its participants a strong sense of how they can successfully secure themselves a meaningful political and civic role of their interest.
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
The School4Civic Program is an 8-week program beginning on March 13th, 2024 and running until May 8th, 2025. The program will meet once a week, mostly on the Thursday of each week, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, in various locations mostly in Toronto.
Each weekly event will be mostly divided into two parts. The first will be led by a bureaucrat who will tour the students through the government and/or independent Board facilities of the week. The second part will be led by a politician, or a professional speaker, invited to discuss their unique experiences in politics and provide advice to Hispanics / Latin Americans who wish to pursue a similar path. Each week will end with practical material that interested persons may take home.
MATERIALS
The material provided will be practical information relevant to the weekly topic. This will include government website links, and quick articles that provide tips on how to directly get involved within politics, campaigns, organizations, etc. Other resources may include recommended websites that provide tools for campaign development, etc. Moreover, information on Canadian Political parties’ constitutions and commissions that may better prepare interested members to select a party of interest.
In addition to this, it is also expected that some invited speakers will bring their own resources to distribute which pertain to their discussion.
LANGUAGES
The course will be dictated in English and Spanish
LOCATION
In person. Various locations around Ontario, most of them located in Toronto.
PROGRAM APPLICATION AND FEE
To be enrolled in this program, participants must apply (fill the application bellow) and pay $100.00 CAN to the HCHC before the first meeting date of the course.
Program Outline
SESION 1
Municipal Government: Overview of Municipal Politics in Canada
Class Objective: Familiarize oneself with the Municipal Governments, and connect with councillors and other municipal workers.
SESION 2
The Ontario Government Structure and getting involved in provincial politics
Class Objective: familiarize oneself with the province of Ontario, and connect with MPPs and other employers
SESION 3
The Canadian Government Structure and Getting involved in Federal Politics
Class objective: An opportunity to learn about the structure and function of the Federal government, and to listen the experience of one MP in effectively getting involved in government and politics.
Session 4
The Role of Boards
Class objective: Gain a better understanding on Boards and their decision-making process.
Session 5
Canadian Political Parties
Class objective: Learn about the three main Canadian political parties and how one may obtain a leadership position in a political party. Liberal Party of Canada
Session 6
Our Community: The numbers of the Hispanic / Latin America community in Canada
Class objective: To understand our profile and to know the real numbers of the Hispanic / Latin American community in Canada, based on the Statistics Canada census and in the re-tabulated data made on the last census
Session 7
The Hispanic / Latin American community and their immigration status
Class objective: Learn about the Immigrant Waves from Latin America to Canada and the status of the more than a million of Hispanic / Latin American population living in this country.
Session 8
FORUM: The Hispanic / Latin Americans and their Civic and Political Participation in Canada
Class objective: Are the Hispanic / Latin Americans involved in the civic and political life in Canada? Why?
Application
To participate in this program, please download and fill the application form below.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSflhkxPDuJDbNryHvuThoVfjeJKAngvPJFd_M0eOFhPqUG3WA/viewform