Namati

Global networkin 2023, the legal empowerment network changed its name to the grassroots justice network (network), drawing on its members' shared dream of making justice a reality for people everywhere. The network remains the world's largest (and growing) collective of grassroots justice defenders and their allies. Our 14,500+ members represent more than 3,800 civil society organizations, working directly with communities across 175 countries. At its core mission, the network is committed to using legal empowerment methods to build power in our communities, so that people can exercise their rights and actively participate in governance and decision-making. In 2023, 170 network members took part in more than one learning event, and 302 different participants joined learning events overall. The network built leadership among members with 125 organizations playing an active role as core group members who shaped outreach, learning events, and collective action within the network.

Global programscommunications: in 2023, Namati doubled the size of our internal communications team to meet the need in the organization's strategy, focusing communications on systemic change in our country programs, movement and mobilization in climate, land and environmental justice, and a vision to build the new grassroots justice academy into a world-class learning institute. Significantly increased collaboration between our team and program teams, rolled out several shared resources and systems, and strengthened our social media engagement. Fundamentally reset the communications function at Namati. Learning: the grassroots justice network's shared learning agenda is building power in our movement through learning. It identifies priorities around the most pressing issues facing legal empowerment practitioners worldwide. In 2023 network delved deeper into key areas of the learning agenda to draw out comparative member experiences across regions and themes, first building foundational knowledge and then engaging in in-depth learning through participatory action research projects. The first in-person global convening of learning agenda cohort members was held in march 2023 in nairobi, kenya, including a series of skills building workshops, sharing programmatic strategies, and developing strategies for implementing research projects. In 2023, the learning agenda held a series of roundtables on legal empowerment groups operating in closing civic spaces, which included surfacing shared areas of concern and ways to experiment navigating difficult political dynamics. Advocacy: the grassroots justice network (network) used existing and emerging spaces, both regionally and thematically, to cultivate leadership, solidarity and strategic planning among its 14,500+ members. The network's advisory council consists of anchor member members that lead respective regional or thematic "core groups" for active members, who work together to craft and executive collective learning and advocacy agendas. The network facilitates discussion and advances the consensus-building process around collective action by bringing network members together to take up issues and institutions they deem most relevant to their respective regions and themes. One major priority for the network is gender justice and last year, members came together to begin building a collective gender justice agenda. During this, participants aligned around key learning and advocacy themes, like promoting women's leadership in decision-making spaces and building community power.on climate, land, and environmental justice, Namati created three new open pathways of engagement beyond the 20-group steering committee, including a monthly newsletter, monthly working group calls, and a quarterly movement-wide call.on safeguarding democracy, in response to a call for input by the un special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers for their upcoming thematic report, the grassroots justice network organized seven regional consultations among network members from 67 countries. The special rapporteur's report, which was presented to the un general assembly, featured a number of the points raised by network members through these consultations.

Community land protection kenya: in kenya, Namati and its partners worked with 18 new communities and continued supporting 13 existing communities to strengthen community-led governance of land. Namati led meetings to build awareness among community members, supported partners in recruiting new paralegals, and convened partner settings to train and equip paralegals with the necessary information and skills to work in their communities. Of the communities with existing support, 10 elected community land management committees (clmcs,) six have revised their bylaws, and three registered their land and received land titles. Myanmar: in 2023, Namati together with local partners, resolved 110 cases, positively impacting the lives of over 2,000 people. The majority of these were land title and local land dispute cases, reflecting political dynamics and existing opportunities for traction in land justice cases. The Namati team and three partners continue to face challenges as a result of challenging political and operational dynamics. Nonetheless, Namati and partners continue to secure meaningful remedies with communities to land rights violations and research and document land rights violations and areas for civil society engagement on land and environmental justice issues. Namati and its partners published 3 policy briefs on these subjects and translated 3 additional policy briefs previously published in english into burmese. Sierra leone: last year, the sierra leone program focused on strengthening implementation of the customary land rights act (clra), a landmark land rights law, which includes strong environmental protections such as banning industrial development, including mining, timber, and agribusiness in old-growth forests and other ecologically sensitive areas. The Namati team deepened knowledge of communities, investors, and government institutions' about key provisions in the clra and each group's rights and responsibilities. In addition, the Namati program supported communities protecting their land and environment by 1) securing remedies to land and environmental violations, 2) developing resources to use with stakeholders, communities, and investors, and 4) creating virtual platforms for community mobilizers and village area land committees to share updates about their work and experience to help promote learning. Paralegals helped over 20 communities negotiate leases covering over 33,000ha across four investment projects.

Program 4: environmental justice

Program 5: citizenship

Program 6: health accountability