Home - I Belong Project

Empower your students to explore their identity and sense of belonging to Quebec society through the arts.

Empower your students by connecting them to their community and their capacity to create.

Gain access to classroom resources developed by LEARN and Hands On Media Education.

Engage learners whether you are teaching in the classroom, at a distance or both!

Option 1

Spoken Word

make art

Students explore the relationship between identity and belonging through spoken word with guidance from two-time Montreal Slam Champion Liana/Luca Cusmano, poet, performer and educator Deanna Smith, or renowned Montreal born poet Jason Selman. This 4-6 week project will culminate in an opportunity for students to participate in a virtual Spoken Word Slam.

Option 2

Comic zine

connect

Students interview young adults, parents and/or seniors from their community to learn more about their contributions and connections to Quebec society. Their stories act as the foundation for the student-led creation of a comic zine, with guidance from comic-artists Laurence Dionne and Jay D’Ici or graphic novelist Scott MacLeod. This 5-8 week project culminates with the presentation of a comic-zine to participants and the broader community.

Option 3

Podcasting

Tell a story

Over 8-12 weeks, French Second Language (FSL) & English Second Language (ESL) teachers and students come together to create a series of podcast episodes exploring the themes of bilingualism and belonging in Quebec society. This project is guided by professional sound artist Guillaume Jabbour.

Option 4

Puppetry

Make art

Students explore and express their identity and sense of belonging to their local communities by storytelling with puppets and everyday objects. The students’ creative process is guided by professional puppeteers.

Option 5

Digital storytelling

Tell a story

Students explore what it means to them to belong to a community as they participate in a 6 to 8 week Digital Storytelling project, with support from digital media experts.

Option 6

Community

take action

Students engage in a Community Service Learning project, where they have an opportunity to take positive actions that foster a greater understanding and sense of belonging to their communities.

Facts and figures

from the 2022-23 year

41 English language schools, 58 classrooms, 54 teachers, 8 Quebec-based artists from ELAN and 1,128 students participated
100+ students participated in puppetry
350+ students created digital stories
200+ students wrote spoken word pieces
200+ students created comic zines
200+ students led Take Action projects, resulting in:
- Youth hosted community meal (community building)
- Community interviews and art project (raising awareness of alternative learners)
- Earthquake relief fundraiser (service learning)
- Youth film productions to inspire other youth to overcome adversity (power of stories)
- Community Food Drive (community service)

DOWNLOAD REPORT FOR 2022-23

2020-2021

2021-2022

2022-2023

Facts and figures

from the 2021-22 year

44 English language schools, 77 classrooms, 11 Quebec-based artists from ELAN and 1,535 students participated
66% of participating schools are members of the CLC network
400+ students participated in puppetry
400+ students created digital stories
275+ students wrote spoken word pieces
100+ students created comic zines
241 students led Take Action projects, resulting in:
- Truth & Reconciliation initiatives
- GSA Clubs
- Theater production (exploring themes of identity, bullying, belonging)
- Music record (exploring themes of identity, gentrification, belonging)

DOWNLOAD REPORT for 2021-22

Facts and figures

From the 2020-2021 school year

46 English language schools, 100 classrooms, 12 Quebec-based artists from ELAN and 1780 students participated
65% of participating schools are members of the CLC network
900+ digital stories
200+ spoken word pieces
26 make art projects involving 553 students
9 comic zines created by 184 students
8 take action projects led by 233 students

DOWNLOAD REPORT

Highlights from last year