Marketplace of Ideas 2025

CASE is a coalition of non-governmental organisations from across Europe united in recognition of the threat posed to public watchdogs by Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).

The Empire Partner Foundation (EPF) is a non-profit company providing consulting and solutions to government, civil society groups, communities and the private sector. The EPF is a Non-Profit Company within the Republic of South Africa on a mission to drive technology to make a sustainable impact in South Africa and the African continent. They use technology, the youth and entrepreneurs to solve 10 key sector challenges relating to Water, Energy, Transportation, Rural Development, Education, Unemployment, Healthcare, Housing, Agriculture and Safety and Security.

The EPF was established in 2016, for young South Africans with the sole purpose of empowering the youth to build a better South Africa and African continent through technology. Technology allows for seamless learning, real-time insights and automated feedback for any business looking to make decisions for the future. EPF currently has invested in three (3) innovation technology campuses employing more than two hundred (200) software engineers.

The EPF’s core business is to satisfy client requirements by building and maintaining software products. By crafting innovative software tailored to solve specific challenges and drive real results. Their impact has been documented, and the results yield positive feedback in the tech community through hosting and
coordinating hackathons. Through their Artificial Intelligence Campus, software products are produced for markets needing data-driven insights, enhancing youth employment.

In line with social justice imperative and challenges facing South Africa, EPF and ProBono.Org entered into a joint venture on 11 December 2024, to develop a leading South African Digital Case Management (DCM) platform. This DCM has to date empowered ProBono.Org with a visible Digital Platform to deliver on its access to justice mandates and has successfully captured twelve thousand (12 000) real-time cases. With the same amount of staff, ProBono.Org is now delivering more than two hundred percent (200%) output due to the activation of the platform.

European Pro Bono Alliance is a collaborative network of European clearinghouses and pro bono initiatives with the goal of supporting and promoting the work of its members and strengthening, championing, and informing the European pro bono movement. The European Pro Bono Alliance serves as a unique platform to share experiences, build partnerships, engage pro bono constituencies, and to nurture the culture of pro bono practice throughout Europe. During the PILnet Global Forum in Rome, 5 member organizations will represent themselves at the Marketplace EPBA table: Alliance of Lawyers for Human Rights (AADH, France) Pro Publico (Belgium), Pro Bono Italia (Italy), Pro bono Connect (The Netherlands), UPJ e.V. (Germany)

The Justice Research Institute Limited by Guarantee (JRI) is an  independent, non-profit think tank based in Nigeria working to advance  people-centred governance, justice, and development across Africa.

JRI works at the intersection of law, governance, and development,  conducting research, convening policy dialogues, and supporting institutional reforms that strengthen human rights, democratic governance, and justice systems. Its approach combines rigorous evidence generation, collaborative partnerships, and community engagement to ensure that justice and governance institutions truly serve the people.

JRI is a West Africa Lead for the African Alliance for People-Centred Justice (AAPCJ)—a continental coalition of governmental and non-governmental actors working to accelerate progress toward people-centred justice in Africa.

With its strategic vision and regional leadership, JRI continues to shape policy, inspire reform, and strengthen institutions that uphold justice, peace, and inclusive development.

ProBono.Org is a non-profit company duly incorporated under the laws of the Republic of South Africa. ProBono.Org started in 2006 as a clearinghouse and is still the only one in South Africa to engage lawyers to take on the cases of people who could not afford to pay for their services. Its purpose is to make real the right of access to justice as enshrined in Section 34 of the Bill of Rights.

ProBono.Org focuses on civil law matters, i.e. not criminal matters, and it runs a number of legal clinics at its offices as well as help desks at courts and other sites such as the Master’s Offices and the Deeds Offices. ProBono.Org has three offices, in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town and through the support of the Community Based Organisations (CBOs/ CAOs), it is able to assist up to 6,000 people a year with a small staff of 30. Many people also walk to its offices for legal assistance. Its furthest community advice Office is located in Musina Limpopo.

ProBono.Org and its pro bono attorneys network has grown over the years and through them it is able to provide legal assistance worth many millions of Rand per year to indigent and marginalised clients. Its legal clinics and help desks provide assistance in the areas of labour law, family law, child law, housing, deceased estates, police brutality and refugee law. Probono.Org also provide legal empowerment workshops for communities on aspects of the law that affect their lives, and also train legal professionals and candidate attorneys as well as unemployed law graduates on areas of the law that they may not be familiar with or in areas that are difficult, e.g. refugee law, so that they are equipped to help the clients that request its services. Probono.Org is entirely dependent on donors to fund its operations.

The Barer Institute for Leadership in Law & Global Development at the University of Washington School of Law focuses on the role of law in promoting improved outcomes in governance and multi-dimensional development. The goal of the Institute is to identify and mentor global leaders who will use law as a tool to develop and implement innovative solutions to pressing global challenges.  The Barer Institute annually supports four mid-career lawyer-leaders from low and lower-middle income countries to earn their LL.M. degrees in Sustainable International Development at UW Law and to engage in experiential learning.  The Institute also provides scholarship support to JD and LLM students focused on rule of law and human rights promotion, sustainable and responsible business, and global development.

The Sustainable International Development Graduate Program at the University of Washington School of Law trains lawyers in its Master of Laws (LL.M.) and Master of Jurisprudence (M.J.) programs to address interrelated global challenges and to advance law and policy frameworks that help people thrive within the ecological limits of our planet. Students analyze strategies for development and rule-of-law promotion in a dynamic academic setting, where they engage with peers from around the world who possess an impressive range of law, policy and advocacy experience.

WWF Italy is part of the world’s largest environmental organization, committed to protecting biodiversity, tackling the climate crisis, and promoting environmental justice. Through its Panda Lawyers Network, WWF coordinates a group of volunteer legal professionals who take action to defend nature by initiating legal proceedings against poaching, pollution, and illegal construction, and by actively participating in administrative and judicial processes to ensure compliance with environmental laws. This legal approach is complemented by advocacy, education, and communication efforts to strengthen the culture of legality and sustainability.