What is the Beta website?
The purpose of the Beta is to illustrate the core concepts/features of our website for feedback from legal and creative communities.
A future version of this website will be the centrepiece of our public-facing creative communications campaign in 2021 which aims to create a cultural shift on bail reform.
This Beta was launched on Oct 30, 2020. It was conceived, designed, and built by a team of volunteers at the Law & Design CoLab - a nonprofit organization that unites professionals in design, tech, and strategy with social justice advocates.
Who is this Beta for?
Legal community
Community advocates and service providers
Researchers and experts
Creative professionals
Potential institutional partners & sponsors
We want to hear from you!
We're keen to hear your feedback on this beta website.
If you're interested in keeping up to date with our work, join our mailing list.
If you’re interested in volunteering with us, please fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.
If you want to learn more about how you can support our creative campaign in 2021, please send us a message.
Why this project? Why now?
In 2020, social justice has taken centre stage. Now more than ever before, public attention is getting focused on the urgent need for systemic change in our justice system.
We’re witnessing a new generation of social justice advocacy driven by:
Digital & Social Media
Rapidly capture/share lived experience of injustice, connect with audiences and move to action more effectively.
Partnership with Creative Talent
In the US, major investments in creative talent have delivered new concepts, formats, and high production values that resulted in unprecedented reach & engagement.
But this type of advocacy hasn’t delivered comparable impact in Canada because:
Traditional news dominates the conversation
The smaller size/scale of nonprofits & philanthropy
More timid & reserved advocacy culture
Our attention is consumed by US advocacy & media
We see an opportunity to enable a new generation of made-in-Canada justice communications - responsive to our history, culture, and context.
Bail reform is a high-impact issue in Canada
The decision to grant bail has the single largest impact on the outcome of a criminal case
Ontario’s bail process traps marginalized people in a cycle of trauma
Legal advocacy has tried and failed to reform the system
That needs a creative communications strategy
Decades of extensive research & strong consensus on causes of injustice and needed remedies
Experts recognize that shifting our cultural perceptions around bail is a massive, untapped opportunity
Legal & policy professionals don’t have the expertise or skills to shift the broader cultural landscape
This website will form the centrepiece of the Unlock Bail Reform Project: public-facing creative communications campaign in 2021 with the goal of realizing a cultural shift on bail reform.