In the past month at HiiL, there has been a lot of activity surrounding our Boostcamps. These are events where chosen applications of the Innovating Justice Challenge pitch in front of local expert juries, and innovators are chosen to attend the Innovating Justice Forum in December, here in The Hague. These Boostcamps are an exciting, important step in the challenge, and are a crucial element of HiiL’s work.
The Boostcamps are a pivotal process in finding the most daring, bold justice entrepreneurs with innovations that make justice more accessible. These entrepreneurs contribute to HiiL’s mission to enable 150 million people by 2030 to prevent or resolve their most pressing justice problems. Shortlisted from over 600 applications, the most promising pitches are selected by our seasoned legal professional juries, whose incomparable insight we are very grateful to have. Each Boostcamp jury is represented by national experts from that country in the fields of law, entrepreneurship or investment or similar.
By supporting innovation through this annual challenge, a crucial link is made between data and action. HiiL’s reports have focused on justice needs in various countries including Ukraine, Uganda, Tunisia, the Netherlands and more, and applications are encouraged from countries where HiiL has identified pressing justice needs issues. The Challenge is divided along the six ‘justice pain points’ that were identified in this data.
After the call for applications, a shortlist form, interviews and evaluations, 6 Boostcamp locations were chosen. So far, 5 out of 6 Boostcamps have occurred – Kampala, Accra, Nairobi, The Hague and Johannesburg. A blog on the exciting innovations from Kampala can be read here. Only one is left – Kyiv on the 19th of October. It is a busy process, and an exciting time to follow innovations that are helping to provide access to justice worldwide.
The diverse, wide range of innovations that have been showcased through the recent Boostcamps display a promising, inspiring ecosystem of justice entrepreneurship. Innovations have included a Ugandan enterprise that creates infographics to simplify complex, legal issues, a New York based app that helps tenants faced with housing legal problems, and a Kenyan platform that connects gender based violence victims to security services quickly and easily, among many others. Through innovation, HiiL’s aim to make accessible justice a reality for 150 million people by 2030 is progressing – stay tuned for our list of finalists and attend our Innovating Justice Forum THIS December to join us on this exciting journey!
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