Generating Political Will

Legal Empowerment is made up of influential policymakers and practitioners who are uniquely well positioned to advocate among their peers for legal reforms in developing countries. Given its unique structure, Legal Empowerment is a powerful catalyst for change among global leaders and within the development community. 

Commission and Board of Advisor members will take the Legal Empowerment agenda to major political gatherings throughout the world, including meetings of the Club of Madrid and the World Urban Forum.    

World Leaders are converging around the idea that extending legal protections and property rights holds unrealized potential for poverty reduction and broad-based economic development, but the complexity of overhauling legal systems to empower the poor is daunting. A key piece of the solution is to identify incentives for high level policymakers to change the status quo.

Learning from the Poor

By partnering with grassroots organizations and civil society, Legal Empowerment has the opportunity to understand poverty from the bottom-up. This requires learning from those who live and work outside the rule of law, in urban slums and informal settlements around the world.  Through the National and Regional Consultation processes, Legal Empowerment will be hosting focus groups, seminars and other activities with representatives of the poor, giving them an influential voice in our work. Local media will also play a critical role in raising awareness of the Legal Empowerment agenda.