Johannesburg, South Africa – 17 August 2026 – Four partner organisations from East and Southern Africa have convened in Johannesburg for a mid-term review of their NOREC-supported regional exchange programme, taking stock of progress, lessons and emerging impact while looking ahead to the next stages of implementation.
The meeting brings together the Africa Judges & Jurists Forum (AJJF), Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI), Legal Resources Foundation (LRF), and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Kenyan Section, together with participating fellows and programme and finance teams.
At the heart of the partnership is the Justice Sector Exchange – Lawyers for Climate, Food and Sustainable Justice, a pan-African initiative designed to strengthen the contribution of young legal professionals to climate justice, food security and sustainable development through legal empowerment and rights-based approaches.
Through the NOREC exchange model, the four organisations exchange young lawyers below the age of 35, enabling them to spend time working and learning within partner institutions in other countries in East and Southern Africa. The approach combines practical, cross-border professional experience with structured learning and collaboration, while enabling participating lawyers to transfer knowledge and good practices back to their home institutions and communities.
The programme seeks to develop a new generation of regionally connected lawyers capable of using law, strategic litigation, policy advocacy and research to address the growing intersection between climate change, environmental rights, food security and human rights. Its interventions include a Regional Online Legal Academy on Climate Justice (ROLA-CJ), policy dialogue with judiciaries, lawmakers, National Human Rights Institutions and civil society, strategic litigation labs, research and policy publications, peer exchanges, and digital advocacy.
The Johannesburg review provided an opportunity for partners to reflect on implementation since the programme commenced, with particular attention to experiences from Round One of Phase Two. Discussions were deliberately centred on the experiences of current fellows, enabling participants to identify what is working, where challenges remain, and how the exchange can generate stronger institutional and regional impact.
Partners also reviewed budgeting, financial oversight and coordination and considered the implications of the increasingly difficult funding environment facing non-profit organisations. A forward-looking discussion explored the establishment of a thematic NOREC Alumni Network for legal professionals to ensure that the relationships, expertise and regional solidarity developed through the exchanges continue beyond individual placements.
The meeting reaffirmed a shared ambition that the exchange should leave behind more than successful individual fellowships. By 2029, the programme aims to contribute towards a growing regional cohort of legally skilled young climate justice advocates, stronger cross-border collaboration among leading rule-of-law organisations, increased use of strategic litigation and evidence-based advocacy, and stronger legal and policy frameworks for climate accountability and adaptation.
For the four partner organisations, the mid-term review is therefore both a moment of accountability and strategic learning: assessing what has been achieved, listening to the experiences of the young lawyers at the centre of the exchange, and agreeing how the partnership can deliver even greater impact during the remainder of Phase Two till 2029.
For more information on this programme please contact Arnold Tsunga on tsunga@africajurists.org who helps coordinate this multi-jurisdictional and multi-organisational programme.