Connexions Archives Launches “Getting the Word Out” a Virtual Exhibit about Grassroots Activism before the Internet
February 17, 2026
Celebrating Canada’s rich history of grassroots activism, the Getting the Word Out exhibit chronicles how organizers and activists communicated and built movements before the Internet.
Getting the Word Out showcases movements and related projects along with the products, technologies and methods they used. The exhibit explores how communities of activists worked to reach other people – in their local community, in their province or region, across the country, or even internationally.
The exhibit showcases movements through the lens of how activists communicated. Here, you can learn about the use of stencil duplicators, screen printing and radio. You can see the media produced such as flyers and buttons, posters and banners, leaflets and newspapers. And you can read stories about the On-to-Ottawa Trek in the 1930s or the 1974 Native People’s Caravan, to name two of the movements highlighted.
This launch coincides with Connexions’ 50th anniversary, a milestone that marks five decades of preserving stories and memories from Canada’s social justice movements. Most of the materials in Getting the Word Out are sourced from the Connexions Archive’s extensive physical collection of more than 100,000 items. Connexions also maintains a website with more than 300,000 files and numerous research tools for online users. To learn more about the Connexions Archive, visit the website at https://www.connexions.org.
Getting the Word Out was developed with the support of Digital Museums Canada, an investment program managed by the Canadian Museum of History. To view the virtual exhibit, please visit Getting the Word Out https://www.communitystories.ca/v2/media-of-activism_medias-du-militantisme/.
Media: To arrange an interview, contact Ulli Diemer by email at mailroom@connexions.org