General QPIRG Resources

As a community resource centre that is open to the public, QPIRG offers a wide range of resources.
We have a number of computers available for use, which have internet access and software for creative projects. We have a general login, which anyone can use, but documents get erased every couple of days, so remember to save them o-nto disk or o-n your email! If you think you will be using the computers for long-term projects or use, you can ask the staff to create a personal log-in for you, where you can save your settings and documents and work o-n your own desktop.

We have phones and a fax machine which can be used for local calls, and we have a photocopier, which you can ask the staff to use for small numbers of copies or which you can apply to the discretionary fund for access to a code and larger numbers of copies.

We have a large comfortable space with couches and seats for people to come and relax in our lounge and library, or which you can book for meetings (just ask a staff member to show you how).

And finally, the staff is available to support you in using any of our technologies and to offer support and referrals, to the best of their abilities, o­n issues of tactics, legalities, organizing, strategy and conflict.

Funding & Resources

QPIRG Concordia supports and co-sponsors community events and initiatives through our board discretionary fund. Groups can apply to the board for money (they usually allocate between $50-$200 *please note that as our budget year draws to a close the discretionary funds available are quite small)  and/or access to QPIRG resources such as photocopies, staff support, co-sponsorship, etc.  The amount of money allocated for projects may depend o­n how many requests there are in a particular discretionary period and doesn’t necessarily reflect the value the board places o­n the project (ie. a similar project may receive more money if they’ve applied for it in a week when not many others apply). 

To read more about our discretionary fund or to fill out an application, visit the discretionary fund page here.

Alternative Orientation... September 15th - 19th

Alternative Orientationis an annual programming series organized by QPIRG Concordia at the beginning of every Fall semester. It is a creative social and environmental justice orientation to the Concordia campus and the Montreal community for new and returning Concordia students. The goal is to present a wide range of opportunities and issues to new students looking to get involved in social and environmental justice organizing, both o­n and off-campus.  Film screenings, workshops, tours and other activities introduce students to social and political issues, movements and organizations at Concordia and in Montreal.

Past events have included:

• a radical tour of the Concordia campus
• walking tours of community gardens in Montreal
  
• workshops o­n prisoner justice, popular education, stencil making, etc.
  
• film screening of RIZE and Amandla!
  
• community groups tabling fair

This year, Orientation will take place the week of September 15th, with lots of exciting events.  Check out the website, drop by or look for our posters around Concordia for the full schedule.

Events

Every school year, QPIRG programs a number of events, often including speakers, film nights, skill-building workshops, and benefit parties and much more. Watch the news page for announcements of upcoming events or join our qpirgsprouts listserve – see below.

If you or your group are interested in co-presenting an event at Concordia with QPIRG Concordia, please talk to a staff person.

Resource library - alternativelibraries.org

The QPIRG Concordia Resource Centre is a free library that is committed to fulfilling the QPIRG's mandate, which aims to promote social and environmental justice. We are currently striving to emphasize anti-racism as a lens through which to do this.

We have an o­n-line, searchable database, shared with the 2110 and QPIRG-McGill, which can be consulted to view all our current holdings, (http://www.alternativelibraries.org/). For more info o­n our library, see our library page.

Qpirgsprouts

Qpirgsprouts is QPIRG Concordia’s listserve, through which we seek to keep interested students and community members updated about the events and projects of QPIRG and it’s working, affiliate, and solidarity groups, as well as community activities we support in solidarity. Everyone is welcome to join, by emailing info@qpirgconcordia.org.