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Improve your skills and build community power with the world’s largest network of justice defenders.
What is legal empowerment?
Everyone should have a say in the rules, or laws, that affect our lives. When we know the law, we can use it. When we use the law, we can shape it. This approach is called legal empowerment. Members of the Grassroots Justice Network use legal empowerment to protect what matters most: our land, our communities, and our democracy.
New to legal empowerment? Start here.
Learn what legal empowerment is and how anyone can use it to advance justice.
Create a community paralegal program
Paralegals help communities use legal empowerment to address injustices.
What is the Grassroots Justice Network (GJN)?
Learn how GJN, which started as the Legal Empowerment Network, brings people together from across the globe to share solutions and strengthen our work.
The Grassroots Justice Network Academy
Exceptional times demand bold answers. That is why we have launched The Grassroots Justice Network Academy, a world-class institute and learning community. The Academy combines a strong global core curriculum with specialized learning opportunities, long-term “learning journeys,” and hybrid formats that make legal empowerment training accessible to grassroots activists worldwide. You'll learn how to use the law to build power and stand up against injustice. Join the Network now to make sure you never miss an opportunity to participate in an Academy offering.
Introduction to Carbon Justice
This free course equips participants with the knowledge and tools needed to engage with carbon markets. Begins on July 13, 2026.
Introduction to Legal Empowerment
This course will equip you with field-tested, proven strategies to address injustices in your community. Opens in Fall 2026.
We reach across borders to celebrate and support each other. By working as a united movement, we can build a world where justice for all is a reality. When you join the Network, you can connect directly with other members.
The GJN Academy offers both in-person and virtual opportunities to connect throughout the year. Together, members explore common obstacles, share ideas and experiences, and devise practical, creative solutions together. Live sessions, working groups, hands-on workshops, learning exchanges, close-knit peer cohorts, and more are all a part of the Academy experience.
Grassroots justice advocates worldwide are using their skills and knowledge of legal empowerment to address the injustices their communities face. By joining the Network, enrolling in the Academy, and expanding your own knowledge, you become a part of our global movement to protect basic rights and defend democracy.
Deepen your knowledge of grassroots justice with our global network.
Grassroots Justice Network members from around the world share best practices and find solutions together through peer exchanges, forums, research projects, and more.
Explore Resources
Access the largest, free, online library of legal empowerment resources. Learn from thousands of practical guides, research findings, toolkits, and more from members across the world. Resources available in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Burmese, Russian, Arabic, Bahasa Malay, and more.
Justice From the Ground Up
Read this recent report on Legal Empowerment in Action Across Latin America, as told by three organizations that partnered with local communities to fight for social and environmental justice.
The Playbook of Justice
In response to human rights abusers using strikingly similar tactics (the “playbook of repression”), this report outlines a “playbook of justice,” compiling effective strategies that grassroots justice workers are using to respond.
How to Protect Community Lands
Use this Community Land Protection Facilitator’s Guide to help your community proactively document and map their lands, strengthen local governance, seek formal government recognition of their land rights, and plan for the future of their lands.
More Ways to Learn
Listen to 'A Common Pot'
'A Common Pot' is a podcast by Namati and the Grassroots Justice Network that shares stories and recipes for grassroots justice and systems change from around the world.
Rising Together: Justice Across Borders
Watch Rising Together: Justice Across Borders to learn how Network members transform shared struggles into meaningful action.
Learn and share with Network members
Join our WhatsApp group to connect with Network members and share resources, learnings, and best practices. But first, join the Network!