Supreme Court Experience, a new University of Ottawa Faculty of Law multimedia educational project, now offers an exclusive inside look into the Supreme Court of Canada's role, its evolution from its modest beginnings and the extraordinary stories that have unfolded within its walls.
Through an interactive virtual experience, it will allow visitors to walk through the Court's hallways to learn about its inner workings, from the comforts of their computer.
The platform, whose tagline is Play. Learn. Discover, sits at the intersection of research, education and media. It has two components, available online for free in both French and English:
- Echoes of the Court: An immersive video game transporting players inside a faithful digital reproduction of the iconic building of the Supreme Court to explore its halls, hear its stories, and learn about the highs and lows faced by judges, lawyers and litigants.
- Keys to the Court: An online ready-to-use "Docu-Course", a learning platform that blends short documentaries filmed across the country with interactive activities. Learners meet judges, lawyers, and litigants, while exploring the Court's workings, evolution, and major decisions.
"Being a stone's throw away from the Supreme Court and having the largest bilingual, multi juridical law school that's ranked among the top five law schools in Canada, it's fitting that the University of Ottawa lead this innovative initiative to give Canadians a glimpse of the inner workings of our country's highest court," says Marie-Eve Sylvestre, President and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Ottawa. "It stems from our commitment to knowledge mobilization in the service of democracy."
"As we mark the 150th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada, this innovative project is offering Canadians new and creative ways to discover our role, our history, and the human stories behind the Court's decisions. At a time when openness and transparency matter more than ever, I want to thank the creators and their partners for helping to deepen understanding of justice and encourage meaningful conversations about democracy and the rule of law," says the Right Honourable Richard Wagner, P.C., Chief Justice of Canada.
Faculty of Law
"The University of Ottawa lead this innovative initiative to give Canadians a glimpse of the inner workings of our country's highest court"
Marie-Eve Sylvestre, President and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Ottawa
For nearly two years, a multidisciplinary team of professors, lawyers, documentary filmmakers, and students from the Faculty of Law's Jurivisionnorth_eastexternal link audiovisual platform, worked on building a virtual educational ecosystem on the Supreme Court to be freely accessible online. This project is first of foremost designed for Canadian classrooms at the high school, college, or university level. This initiative was created with the support of institutional and creative partners and would not have been possible without the Supreme Court's collaboration and openness.
"The University of Ottawa's Civil Law Section believes that legal education must extend beyond the walls of the university. The Supreme Court Experience project demonstrates how the collaboration between our professors and creators can result in innovative educational tools that bring democratic institutions closer to citizens and promote informed and lasting dialogue about justice," says Sophie Thériault, Interim Dean of the Faculty of Law - Civil Law Section.
Jurivision, the media production arm of the Faculty of Law - Civil Law Section, has a proven record in developing virtual resources to elevate the Faculty's teachings having previously created Reset 2047 - an educational video game about video game law. uOttawa also recently opened a Gaming Hub dedicated to video game and E-sport research, and has delved into the world of Minecraft for educational purposes.
"Supreme Court Experience is an invitation to discover the country's highest court by highlighting the stories of those who experience it. By bringing together collaborators from various backgrounds, the project breaks down traditional silos and builds new bridges between law, research and creativity. We invite Canadians - students, teachers, legal professionals or simply curious citizens - to take advantage of these digital tools, accessible from coast to coast, to better understand our justice system, in a spirit that is both rigorous and playful." - Étienne Trépanier, Director of Jurivisionnorth_eastexternal link, which is leading the project.
