What is Sign Me Up For Justice?

For the first time ever, the Ministry of the Attorney General is inviting Ontario post-secondary students to participate in a court signage design competition to help improve access to justice.

Through the Sign Me Up For Justice contest, teams of design and law students from accredited Ontario colleges and universities students can work together to create prototypes of innovative, easy-to-understand courthouse signs.

Through this competition, post-secondary students will have a chance to make a significant and lasting impact on the design of courthouse signage in Ontario.  The winning entry will play a pivotal role in enhancing access to our justice system.

Why are you doing this?  What’s wrong with current courthouse signs?

In our ongoing effort to improve access to the justice system, we are continually upgrading and modernizing our courthouses to meet the changing needs of Ontarians.

Navigating through a courthouse can be a challenging, and sometimes intimidating task, especially when people are dealing with serious issues before the courts.

Clear, easy-to-understand signs play a vital role in the effective administration of justice because they make it easier for people to find their way around our courthouses, and access the services they need.  We want to make sure that when people enter a courthouse, there is no confusion about where they need to go. 

Making court services easier to find through improved signs is part of the government’s response to a report by the Hon. Coulter Osborne, which, among other things, highlighted the importance of providing better help and information to court users.

Is the project for signs both inside and outside the courthouse?

The contest focuses on signage inside public spaces of courthouses.

Who is eligible to enter?

Design and law school students from accredited Ontario colleges and universities can forms teams to enter the contest.

Students must be currently registered and enrolled in full or part-time programs.

How many students must be on each team?

Each team must include between two and four students, one of which must be a law school student. 

Does it cost money to enter?

No.  There are no entry fees for the competition.

How will students connect with one another to form teams?

A Facebook group called Sign Me Up For Justice has been created to help students connect online, provide resource materials and keep students informed of developments leading up to the final judging.

What if students aren’t on Facebook?

Information is also posted on the ministry’s website, along with an e-mail address for questions about the contest.

Students can also contact their deans, who can in turn contact the deans of law or design schools.

Can teams enter more than once?

No.  Competitors can only make one submission.  No individual may be a member of more than one team.

Can teams receive credit for their submission towards a course at their college or university?

Course credit is entirely at the discretion of the schools.  Participation in the competition should not interfere with, or take priority over, regular student assignments or curriculum.

What if teams have questions about the contest?

Teams can submit questions either through the Facebook group, or through the ministry’s website.  Answers will be posted for everyone to see.

Questions can be asked up until November 21, 2008, four days before the competition closes.

Can post-secondary students from outside the province enter the competition?

No.  The competition is limited to students attending colleges or universities within Ontario.  However, students attending out-of-province programs conducted by Ontario colleges and universities are still eligible.

What is the prize for the winner?

Winning team members will receive a $1,500 bursary, along with the chance for their design to be incorporated into courthouse signage across the province. 

Will there be more than one winner?

An honourary letter will go out to the second, third and fourth runners up.

What is the deadline for submissions?

The deadline for registering is October 31, 2008 and the deadline for entries is November 25, 2008 and the winning team will be announced by the end of January 2009.

Late submissions will not be considered.

Detailed rules are posted on the ministry’s website, as well as on Facebook.

How will submissions be received?

For environmental reasons, and in order to reduce waste, no hard copy of physical entries will be accepted.  All submissions must be received electronically, recorded on a CD or DVD.

Detailed rules, including submission requirements, are posted on the ministry’s website, as well as on Facebook.

Who’s judging the entries?

Submissions will be judged by a panel of ministry and industry representatives.

Will the winner be able to sell the design?

No.  Winning team members will be required to relinquish all intellectual property rights to the Ministry of the Attorney General.

Once received, all entries become the property of the Ministry of the Attorney General.

The ministry will not return any submissions.  Therefore it is the responsibility of all competitors to create back-up copies of their submissions.