WHAT ARE PIRGS ?
APIRG is a Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). PIRGs share the idea that students are citizens, and as such, part of their education should include recognizing and engaging in societal problems. PIRGs exist to provide training, support, and opportunities for students to be active citizens in their communities. Through involvement with PIRGs, thousands of Canadian students have learned skills in consensus decision-making, group facilitation, events organizing, media relations, and community-based research. These skills help individuals to act effectively in the public interest.
PIRGs are student-based, student-funded, student-run, student-directed and community-minded. They are democratic, independent, non-partisan, and non-profit to ensure that students are able to work on issues of importance to them without fear of censure. For more information on other PIRGs, check out pirg.ca.
WHAT DO PIRGS DO?
Since PIRGs are student-directed, what PIRGs do depends on the interests of the students who are involved. Most PIRG projects are coordinated by student-initiated Working Groups. While board members, as student volunteers, may identify projects and programs for the PIRG, their primary role, along with staff members, is to support the interests of students in the working groups.
PIRGs give busy students the opportunity to take effective action to improve their communities. By providing resources, training, ideas, and support, PIRGS allow students to devote their time to the issues that they choose. Also, PIRGs work with students to organize educational events on public interest issues and coordinate research in collaboration with university departments, professors, and the community.