Sistema Toronto De-Funded

In the June 2018 issue of The World Ensemble, we enthusiastically reported that Sistema Toronto had been granted $500,000 by the Ontario provincial government as part of a significant new investment in arts education. Sistema Toronto has waiting lists at all of its three sites, and the new funds would significantly expand their reach, reduce waiting lists, and provide teachers with resources they have long gone without..  In mid-August, in a shocking move, the provincial government rescinded those new funds in a budget-cutting initiative. Programs across North America are writing to the minister in charge of the department that made this harsh decision, in hopes of creating pressure to reinstate the funding. We invite Sistema programs around the globe to send emails in support of Sistema Toronto’s funding to the minister.

Full details of how to do so, and a sample text you can use to adapt to your own voice, can be found here.

Please write in support of our colleagues in Toronto; let’s build this habit of helping when it’s needed, busy as we are—you may benefit from this helping habit someday.

Date Published: 1 September 2018