Links

The categories of links on this page are as follows:

By clicking one of the following links you will be leaving the Kawartha World Issues Centre website. We try to provide useful and relevant links but don't have any control over the content on these website.

Activism

PCAP – Peterborough Coalition Against Poverty
http://pcap.revolt.org
The Peterborough Coalition Against Poverty is a group dedicated to political struggle against an economic system that maintains and profits from the inequality, indignity, and needless suffering of poverty.  PCAP fights acts of oppression which hurt low-income people by organizing direct actions, education of the community, and advocacy to support and protect low income persons or groups who are being oppressed.  PCAP is a member of the Ontario Common Front.

CorpWatch: Holding Corporations Accountable
www.corpwatch.org

Global Response (international letter campaign organizer)
www.globalresponse.org

Taking IT Global and Global Youth Action Network
www.takingITglobal.org

Media Education

Adbusters Culture Jammers
www.adbusters.org

Alternative Media

Adbusters Culture Jammers
www.adbusters.org

Peterborough Collective
www.peterboroughcollective.org

Indymedia
www.indymedia.org

Common Dreams
www.commondreams.org
Common Dreams offers a mix of “politics, issues and breaking news with an emphasis on progressive perspectives”. This American non-profit citizens' organization collects a selection of stories and views from both alternative and mainstream media sources.

Global Education

Global Citizens for Change
www.citizens4change.org
Global Citizens for Change promotes positive global change by providing resources for educators and students on international issues. The site encourages individuals to make connections between what they learn and what they do by providing information on a number of overseas volunteer organisations.

Peterborough Organizations/Groups

Peterborough LETS – Local Economic Trading System
http://ptbolets.50webs.com
Peterborough LETS is a local barter system where goods and services are traded for green dollars.  Green dollars are then used to buy goods and services.  There are now more than 40 LETS systems across Canada.  The LETS system is managed by a volunteer board made up of members.  There are many active volunteers; their energy and support is vital to the success of the system.

Jamaican Self-Help
www.jshcanada.org
Jamaican Self-Help is a non-governmental organization based in Peterborough, Ontario.  JSH works in partnership with organizations in Jamaica, and with Canadians, to promote solidarity and the development of Jamaican communities.  JSH works to provide self-sustaining programs such as literacy, skills training, agricultural training, community development, health care and sanitation and institutional strengthening. 

Peterborough Green-Up
www.greenup.on.ca
Peterborough Green-up seeks to provide education, services, resources, and support to enable citizens to take up environmentally healthy lifestyle habits.  Their comprehensive approach includes such areas as waste reduction, water quality, water conservation, energy conservation, landscape enhancement, air quality improvements, active and alternative transportation and climate change awareness.

The Orchard
www.theorchardcentre.ca
The Orchard is a non-profit multi-faith spirituality centre.  The Orchard is for people of all faiths and spiritual traditions to learn more about their own spiritual paths and those of other.  The Orchard is not a church or religious organizations but is a new and unique place for transformative learning.  They offer courses, programs, seminars, materials, general information, online teaching, guidance, life-cycle facilitation, healing body work, and inspiration.

Spirituality Centre
www.spiritualitycentre.com
The Spirituality Centre welcomes all people in their unique life experiences and offers to all persons seeking wholeness a place to experience and explore God’s call to active and inclusive love as well as a right relationship with Earth and all creation.  At the centre, there is a gathering space for all faiths and those active around community justice issues. 

Peterborough Coalition for Social Justice
www.pcsj.ca
Peterborough Coalition for Social Justice participates primarily in lobbying both the federal and provincial governments on financial planning issues by presenting and promoting alternative budgets.

Kawartha Ploughshares
Kawartha Ploughshares works to promote peace through education and advocacy, publications, and research and analysis of militarism. Recent areas of interest have included the abolition of landmines and campaigning against nuclear weapons.

Development and Peace Peterborough
Development and Peace Peterborough provides financial assistance to programs that work to improve the quality of life for communities in the less-industrialised world. The organisation is also involved in various education and lobbying campaigns.

Ontario Groups

Ontario Public Interest Research Group (click on Peterborough)
www.opirg.org
Ontario Public Interest Research Group is comprised of a “network of university student-funded and directed organisations” that engage in “research, education, and action on social and environmental justice issues”.

Leaders Today
www.leaderstoday.com
Leaders Today encourages young people to become active in their communities and in the global community by providing leadership education and overseas volunteer experiences.

Volunteer Sending Agencies

Leaders Today (Nicaragua, Thailand)
www.leaderstoday.com
Leaders Today offers both volunteer and leadership programmes that include educational seminars, fieldtrips, and community service activities.

Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) (Africa, Asia)
www.akfc.ca
Aga Khan Foundation Canada seeks to improve the quality of education and health care in less-industrialised nations and to increase rural incomes. As part of their programme, the AKFC offers youth specialized training in development management and microentreprise and microfinance.

Canadian Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI) (Africa, Central America, Andes, Haiti, Asia, the Balkans)
www.ceci.ca
Canadian Centre for International Studies and Cooperation assists communities in less-industrialised countries to strengthen their capacity for development by providing professional volunteers in a specific field.

Canadian Crossroads International (Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Mexico, Nepal, Niger, St. Vincent, Senegal, Suriname, Togo)
www.cciorg.ca
Canadian Crossroads International supports exchanges from North to South and South to North with the intention of sharing knowledge and building capacities. Projects focus on community needs such as health, education, social services, economic development and natural resources.

Canada World Youth (Canada, Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, or Central and Eastern Europe)
www.cwy-jcm.org
Canada World Youth organises international education programs for Canadian youth focusing on community involvement. The majority of programs offer a phase in Canada and one in another country. CWY also offers internships that are exclusively overseas, and assistance to groups of youth who are interested in organizing their own short-term overseas experience.

CUSO
www.cuso.org
CUSO enables skilled Canadian professionals to donate technical and professional support to partner organisations in less industrialised countries. Placements last up to two years and cover a broad range of issues, from human rights to the environment.

Doctors Without Borders
www.msf.ca
Doctors Without Boarders is an independent international medical relief organization that provides emergency care in areas where there is no medical infrastructure, or where the “existing structure cannot withstand the pressure to which it is subjected.” The organisation looks for medical and non-medical volunteers, as well as project co-coordinators.

Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) Canada
www.vsocanada.org
Voluntary Service Overseas offers overseas placements to professionals in response to requests from partner organisations. Placements are available in skill areas such as education, health, natural resources, business and community development and information technology.

World University Service of Canada (WUSC)
www.wusc.ca
World University Service of Canada provides international work opportunities to both professionals and students.

Youth Challenge International (Costa Rica, Guyana, Australia, Canada)
www.yci.org
Youth Challenge International encourages youth to gain international experience by providing a community development program, a leadership practicum and a discovery program in a South American setting.

National Groups

Amnesty International Canada
www.amnesty.ca
Amnesty International Canada is an independent and democratically run organization.  The work of Amnesty International is based on their mission to protect the human rights of all people everywhere through global action.  Amnesty International Canada works to protect human rights in their own country but their approach not blind to the affect or involvement of other countries and does not focus on a single country.  Their aim is the protection of human rights as an international and not only a national responsibility.

The Council of Canadians
www.canadians.org
The Council of Canadians is Canada’s largest citizens’ organization with members in chapters across the country.  They work to protect Canadian independence by promoting progressive policies on fair trade, clean water, energy security, public health care, and other issues of social and economic concern to Canadians.  They organize speaking tours, days of action, conferences and demonstrations.  They produces research reports, create popular materials, and work with individuals and organizations across the country and the world.

Green Communities Canada
www.gca.ca
Green Communities Canada is a national network of community-based non-profit organizations delivering innovative environmental programs and services with a focus on household and community action.  Green Communities Canada works with and supports other member organizations to achieve environmental sustainability including healthy ecosystems and communities, sustainable resource use, and clean air, water and soil.

KAIROS
www.kairoscanada.org
KAIROS unites churches and religious organizations in a faithful ecumenical response to the call to “do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).  KAIROS deliberates on issues of common concern, advocates for social change and joins with people in faith and goodwill in action for social transformation.

Development and Peace
www.devp.org
Development and Peace is an official international development organization of the Catholic Church in Canada and the Canadian member of Cartas Internationalis.  It is a membership-based organization to fight poverty in the countries of the South and to promote greater international justice.  Development and Peace is inspired by the gospel to support initiatives by people in the global South to take control of their lives and to educate Canadians about North-South issues while promoting advocacy and fund-raising.

YouCan!
www.youcan.ca
YouCAN! assists youth in exploring various methods of conflict resolution and violence prevention through training workshops, forums and national conferences. Run for-youth-by-youth, YouCAN! offers a unique perspective and approach to peace building skills.

International Groups

Friends of Honduran Children
www.honduranchildren.com
Friends of Honduran Children is a thriving non-profit, grassroots organization helping children from the devastating effects of poverty.  Based out of Peterborough Ontario, the organization works towards developing sustainable programs as well as providing necessary aid, supplies, and skills that encourage Hondurans to help themselves as they strive to obtain self-sufficiency and personal fullfillment.

Maquila Solidarity Network
www.maquilasolidarity.org
The Maquila Solidarity Network is a labour and women’s rights advocacy organization promoting solidarity with grassroots groups in Mexico, Central America, and Asia.  The network works to improve conditions in Maquiladora factories and export processing zones by supporting garment workers’ efforts to improve working conditions through policy advocacy, corporate campaigning and engagement, participating in multi-stakeholder initiatives to promote corporate accountability, and local labour rights capacity building.

Global Youth Service Days International Campaign
www.gysd.net
Global Youth Services Days International Campaign offers resources for participation in Global Youth Service Day, an annual global event that celebrates, recognises, and mobilizes the year-round contributions of young people to their communities through voluntary service.

Government Sites

Careers in International Development

Charity Village
www.charityvillage.com

Studying International Development

Links to Organizations at Trent University

TCSA – Trent Central Student Association
www.trentcsa.ca
The Trent Central Student Association is the students’ union that represents full-time undergraduate students and consecutive teacher education students at Trent University studying in Peterborough.  The TCSA works to supplement its members’ education through essential academic, political and social support and opportunities. The Association works with the College Cabinets, the Julian Blackburn Students’ Association, the Graduate Student Association as well as clubs, groups and student societies on campus.

Trent Women’s Centre
www.trentwomenscentre.ca
The Trent Women’s Centre is a student-run, campus based group that seeks to provide space, support, events, resources, and referrals to women-identified Trent students, as well as the greater Peterborough community.  The Women’s Centre hosts events and workshops, provides resources in their alternative library, and offers space in their Sadleir House office.  All women-identified people are encouraged to visit the centre, take part in evens, and contribute in any way they choose.

OPIRG Peterborough
http://opirg.trentwomenscentre.ca
OPIRG is a campus-based, community-oriented, non-profit organization dedicated to social justice and environmental issues.  OPIRG addresses power imbalances in our society and the connections between them.  OPIRG’s goal is to serve as a training ground for all types of activists and help individuals figure out what they care about and how to best affect change.  OPIRG works toward empowering Trent students, and the broader community, by providing a forum for learning and sharing skills.

Youth Volunteerism

Volunteer Canada
www.volunteer.ca
Volunteer Canada enhances and promotes volunteerism in Canada by offering general information on facts and trends in volunteerism, posting national events related to volunteering, and providing a directory of organisations who receive volunteers.

Volunteer Opportunities in Peterborough
www.fourinfo.com
Volunteer Opportunities in Peterborough facilitates community service involvement in the Peterborough area through its searchable database of community services, links to volunteer opportunities, and general information about community planning and co-ordination.

The information on this site is provided by Kawartha World Issues Centre