The World Justice Project is pleased to announce the 2024 World Justice Challenge, focused on “The Rule of Law Foundation of Democracy.” The Challenge competition seeks to identify, promote, and support changemakers who are pursuing effective strategies for strengthening the rule of law to reverse autocracy and rebuild trust in democratic governance.
Categories
Awards will be made in the following categories:
- Ensuring that electoral processes and transitions of government power are subject to the law
- Building citizen trust in justice institutions and guaranteeing that justice systems are independent, impartial, accountable, transparent, and ethical
- Protecting free media and a robust, trustworthy information ecosystem in the face of new challenges posed by 21st century technological change
- Strengthening young people’s engagement with and commitment to rule of law and democracy processes and institutions
- The U.S. Building Trust Prize for the project from the United States that demonstrates exceptional impact in one or more of the above categories
Eligibility Requirements
- Initiatives that address at least one of the issue areas in the categories stated above are eligible to apply.
- The competition is global and open to applications from any country or territory in the world. As noted, only United States-based projects will be eligible for the U.S. Building Trust Prize. Awards in the other four categories will be given to non-U.S. projects.
- The competition is multidisciplinary and open to organizations across sectors, including, but not limited to: non-profits; social entrepreneurs; media; multilateral organizations; local and national government bodies and agencies; businesses/private sector enterprises; bar associations; law firms; foundations; and academics.
- Collaborative entries among several organizations are welcome.
- Entries must be submitted in English. However, please note that entries will be evaluated solely based on the quality of the project itself, and not on the application’s level of English language mastery or ability.
- Entries will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Impact: the initiative has demonstrably made a contribution to improving an important rule of law and democracy problem.
- Sustainability: the initiative demonstrates the potential for sustained operation over time.
- Scaling and/or Replicability: the initiative demonstrates potential for expansion in its current context and/or replication in other contexts (e.g., other geographies, populations, or sectors).
Prize
- Cash awards ($20,000 USD) will go to five initiatives that show demonstrable results and promising prospects for future progress and replication and/or scaling.
Benefits
- WJP will select thirty finalists. The finalists will be profiled on WJP’s website and social media to promote visibility and uptake of these promising approaches.
The five winning initiatives will be selected in the following manner:
- Four winners will be chosen by a committee of experienced judges.
- A fifth winner will be selected by a network of finalists from previous World Justice Challenge competitions.
The competition will culminate at an event adjacent to the American Bar Association Annual Meeting, which will take place August 3-9, 2024 in Chicago, USA. All finalists will be invited to attend in-person to showcase their work and take part in the Challenge awards ceremony.
All finalists will be invited to join the World Justice Challenge Alumni Network for ongoing networking, partnership, visibility, and learning opportunities to support their work.
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the World Justice Challenge 2024