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Written by Jennifer Scherer
The World Day of Social Justice is recognized every year on February 20th. The theme for 2025 is “Empowering Inclusion: Bridging Gaps for Social Justice.” Social justice is a term that evokes ideas and feelings about fairness, equality, and hope for a better future. It also raises the question of how much progress still needs to be made. Keeping this in mind, it is important to consider what does social justice actually means and to take a look at what people can do to make a difference for social justice.
One definition of social justice from the International Labor Organization (2023) states, “Social justice means fair and equal treatment for everyone. This includes equal access to opportunities, human rights, and the benefits of growth regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion, race, disability, or socioeconomic position” (para.1). World Vision Youth define social justice as “fairness in societies, grounded in the idea that every human being deserves the full spectrum of political, economic, and social rights and opportunities” (para.7).
The International Labor Organization (2023) describes four dimensions to social justice: Universal human rights, equal access to opportunities, fair distribution, and just transitions.
- Universal human rights were encoded into the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, and the Alberta Human Rights Act in 1972.
- Equal access to opportunities refers to accessing “employment and productive activity that enable people to pursue their material well-being in conditions of economic security” (International Labor Organization, 2023, p.7). This means that people should be able to earn a living wage and be able to pay for food, shelter, and basic necessities.
- Fair distribution refers to the way economic growth is shared between those who participate in paid work, those who contribute with unpaid labor (such as childcare and elder care), and those who cannot work (such as children, seniors, and people with disabilities) (International Labor Organization, 2023, p.8). Fair distribution means making sure that everyone in society benefits from the economic wealth of that society.
- Just transitions considers the impact that large scale changes has on people, such as climate change, globalization, and political or technology changes (International Labor Organization, 2023, p.8).
The social justice definitions of fairness, equality, and opportunity are values that many Canadians hold and are central to our beliefs about social justice. When people experience, witness, or hear stories of injustice that go against their core values, it can activate emotional responses such as anger, guilt, preoccupation, sadness, disappointment, helplessness, indignation, or frustration (Bondu et al., 2022). These responses help us recognize injustice when we see it and helps to motivate us to examine what actions we can take to promote social justice, either across the world or in our own communities.
How can a person who wields no formal power in decision making circles promote social justice? Rather than feeling overwhelmed at the extent of the problems we see, instead we can consider what small actions we can personally pursue that can make a difference. These actions may include educating ourselves, making connections in our communities, discovering actions we can take to effect change in our sphere of influence, and advocating to decision makers for causes we care about.
One way to take action is to learn about the social justice issue that concerns us. Many resources exist to inform us about many social justice issues, such as books, podcasts, documentaries, and blogs. A visit to the Edmonton Public Library can guide you to reliable information sources, such as books, reputable news sources, memoirs, and published research (Harvard College Writing Program, 2025). Sources may focus on personal stories on how individuals are affected by the social justice issue, others focus on the history and causes for the injustice you see, and others focus on finding solutions. Educating oneself helps us see the world from a variety of perspectives, gives us a better understanding of the issues, and helps identify how one person might make a difference.
One way to build community connections and make a difference is through volunteering. There are many organizations working towards change in every area of social justice. Volunteerism makes change all over the world, with over one billion people volunteering annually (UN Volunteers, 2016). Volunteering builds community connections and works towards change in a multitude of ways. When deciding the type of volunteer work you want to do, consider which causes you are passionate about, what skills you can leverage, and your belief in how you can best make a difference. Volunteering creates connections for people in need, helps organizations succeed, raises funds and awareness for important causes, and offers practical assistance to others (UN Volunteers, 2016).
Learning about social justice issues may help us find ways to make a difference in our own sphere of influence with small, everyday choices. If everyone made a slight change, it would add up to a huge difference. Or maybe you have influence within an organization to make a policy change that has an impact on people within the organization. Perhaps you can find a way to use your social media presence to spread awareness about an issue. Even if the action seems insignificant, it can make a big difference for one person or contribute to a larger movement.
Sometimes the issue that concerns us is outside our own sphere of influence. Advocacy is when someone “publicly supports the interests of an individual, group, or cause” (Soken-Huberty, n.d.). This can involve making phone calls on behalf of someone else, writing letters to policy makers and decision makers, leveraging social media, attending a rally or protest, or contacting elected officials about an issue. Some strategies for effective advocacy include having sufficient knowledge of the topic, working alongside others, and having a clear ask of what change you are looking to make (Soken-Huberty, n.d.). Advocacy takes time, persistence, and collaboration with others- but over time each small moment of advocacy can add up to meaningful change.
Initially, understanding what social justice is seems staggering. However, by thinking about the values of fairness, equality, and opportunity, we can see the work that needs to be done to achieve social justice and the possibilities that social justice work strives for. Social justice can also feel overwhelming when we see injustices around us and aren’t sure how to work towards change. Creating connections empowers us to engage in social justice work- learning, volunteering, making small changes, and advocacy are all tools that everyone can use to make an impact. The World Day of Social Justice is a prompt to help us consider how we can each do our small part to make a better and more just world to live in.
References
Alberta Human Rights Act. https://albertahumanrights.ab.ca/media/1utjxb3e/alberta-human-rights-act.pdf
Bondü, R., Holl, A. K., Trommler, D., & Schmitt, M. J. (2022). Responses Toward Injustice Shaped by Justice Sensitivity – Evidence From Germany. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 858291–858291. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.858291
Edmonton Public Library. (2025). EPL. https://www.epl.ca/
Government of Canada. (1982). The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/
Harvard College Writing Program. (2025). Harvard Guide to Using Sources. https://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/evaluating-sources-0
International Labor Organization. (2023). Advancing Social Justice. https://www.ilo.org/resource/conference-paper/ilc/111/advancing-social-justice
Soken-Huberty, E. (n.d.). Advocacy 101: Types, Examples, and Principles. Human Rights Careers. https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/advocacy-types-examples-principles/
UN Volunteers. (2016, September 5). The Power of Volunteerism. https://www.unv.org/power-volunteerism
United Nations. (1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. https://www.ohchr.org/en/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
United Nations. (n.d.). World Day of Social Justice. https://www.un.org/en/observances/social-justice-day
World Vision Youth. (2021). The Beginner’s Guide to Social Justice. https://www.worldvision.ca/youth/blog/social-justice-guide
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