News Release

U of T Students Win 'Sign' Me Up For Justice Competition

Winning Design To Help Make Courthouses Easier To Navigate

February 25, 2009

News

A team of students from the University of Toronto has won the Ministry of the Attorney General's "Sign" Me Up For Justice contest.

Through the contest, teams of design and law or paralegal students from Ontario colleges and universities were invited to create prototypes of innovative, easy-to-understand methods to help people find their way around Ontario courthouses.

The winning design used text, colour, icons and employed tactile prompts and GPS technology to help all court users to better navigate the courthouse space.

The winning team of law student Amma Anaman, and Masters of Architecture students Alejandro Lopez Hernandez, Ada-Nkem Juwah and Theresa Mader have each won a $1,500 bursary and the opportunity for elements of their design to be incorporated in new courthouse signage across the province.

Quotes

"We are improving access to justice in the province's courthouses by making it easier for all court users to find their way through our courts," said Attorney General Chris Bentley. "When we design the courthouses of the future, we're going to build them with the public in mind."

"This is just another example of Ontario students leading the way and contributing to society while still in school," said Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities John Milloy. "The winning members exemplified the meaning of team and truly earned both the bursary awards and the prestige of contributing to the future of Ontario's courthouses."

Quick Facts

• The runner up team is comprised of University of Windsor law students Tatha Swann and Maxim Kaploun and University of Waterloo Masters of Architecture student Gordon Graff.
• There are 179 courthouses in Ontario, serving approximately 12 million people annually.
• Making courtrooms and court services easier to find through improved signage is part of the government's response to a report by the Honourable Coulter Osborne, which highlighted the importance of providing better help and information to court users.

Learn More

View the winning submissions

Learn more about Ontario Courts

Contacts

Sheamus Murphy
Minister's Office, 416-326-1785

Brendan Crawley
Communications Branch, 416-326-2210

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