The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) is pleased to announce the regional semi-finals for its annual Innovating Justice Challenge. Seven entrepreneurs and innovators from South Africa and Zimbabwe have been selected to take part in the event, which will take place at OPEN Maboneng in Johannesburg on 13 October 2017.
Successful finalists will have access to up to 20 000 EUR in equity-free grant money, and earn a place in the six month HiiL Justice Accelerator, a unique business development programme which specialises in growing startups focussed on sustainable solutions to justice and legal problems.
This year’s semi-finalists will present their ideas to a panel of local legal and innovation experts, and international representatives from HiiL at the Boostcamp.
The 2017 Innovating Justice challenge saw a record 601 innovations submitted from 65 different countries, including 80 from the Southern Africa region.
“The number and quality of entries that HiiL received this year shows that the justice sector is ripe for disruption, with hundreds of like-minded innovators all thinking about how new technology and ideas can improve access to justice for all,” Head of the Justice Accelerator, Wilfried de Wever, says. “We’ve seen that every aspect of the law and its implementation is being challenged. In every country in which we operate, people are finding novel ways to improve justice systems. The challenge for HiiL is now is to look at how we can support ever more innovators globally in their work.”
As well as the semi-final pitching session, the Innovating Justice Boostcamp will also feature key-note addresses, panel discussions, and interactive working sessions that will serve to bring together the different worlds of entrepreneurs, investors, civil society, justice professionals and academia.
The Boostcamp is a unique opportunity to talk and think about new ways to address key justice pain points such as Crime and Law Enforcement, Migration and Human Trafficking, Land and Property Rights, Family Justice, Neighbor Disputes, and Employment Justice. HiiL will also present from its own research based on large scale international studies carried out over 12 years.
Members of the public are encouraged to sign up to attend the Boostcamp at https://boostcampjohannesburg2017.eventbrite.co.uk/.
About HiiL. HiiL (Hague Institute for Innovation of Law) is a not-for-profit institution based in The Hague, International City of Peace and Justice. We are driven to make justice work for people through new technologies, cutting edge knowledge on conflict resolution, and new forms of organisation and governance. We partner with NGOs, governments and legal entrepreneurs to improve rulemaking and conflict resolution processes. Guided by the belief that justice should be accessible to everyone, we work to increase access to justice and enhance the rule of law.
