SLIC will use $750,000 to open new office.
Bureau Report
WASHINGTON, DC: The Socio Legal Information Centre (SLIC) in New Delhi, which provides free legal assistance to protect the rights of the marginalized in India, is one of 13 organizations in five countries, who have been named as recipients of the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. The award, which recognizes exceptional grantees and helps ensure their long-term sustainability, provides each organization with $500,000 to $1.5 million, depending on the size of its budget. SLIC has been awarded $750,000.
“From New York to New Delhi, these extraordinary organizations are making a real difference in the lives of people and communities,” said MacArthur President Robert Gallucci. “MacArthur recognizes their importance and impact, and we hope our investment will help ensure that they continue to thrive and to increase their reach in the future.”
With more than 70 percent of India’s population living on less than a dollar per day, using the courts to protect fundamental rights is not a realistic option for most Indians. SLIC provides free legal assistance to people who lack the capacity to approach the courts for redress. It files more than 100 petitions each year to protect the health, dignity, and rights of India’s citizens. With a presence in 25 of India’s 28 states, SLIC is one of India’s largest, most active legal human rights programs and runs the country’s only reproductive rights unit.
In collaboration with partner organizations and individuals, SLIC has helped transform the lives of thousands of people, especially pregnant women. Legal petitions filed by SLIC have helped ensure that women who give birth in public health facilities have access to safe delivery services and adequate nutrition and that the state investigates instances of maternal mortality. In a landmark case, the organization helped gain court recognition of reproductive rights as fundamental human rights.
SLIC started in 1991 when young lawyers began organizing slum dwellers in Bombay; it has a long history of going to court for the poor, the “untouchable” Dalit class, and youth who live on the streets. Today, the organization has more than 180 lawyers who provide free legal representation to those facing the harshest realities of life in India. Each year, they bring judges, doctors, and activists together to collaborate and strategize on legal issues concerning human and reproductive rights.
SLIC will use its $750,000 MacArthur Award to purchase an office and training space for their reproductive rights unit in New Delhi and to build a reserve fund, providing health insurance for its staff and emergency assistance for staff and volunteers harmed in the field.
The other recipients of the 2013 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions are:
*American Documentary – Brooklyn, New York ($1 million) produces and broadcasts documentary films on the most important issues that spark reflection, discussion, and civic engagement
*Fundacion para la Sobrevivencia del Pueblo Cofan (Foundation for the Survival of the Cofan People) – Quito, Ecuador ($500,000) empowers indigenous people to protect priority tropical rainforests and their homelands.
*Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University – Chicago, Illinois ($750,000) protects the rights and well-being of young people in the juvenile justice system and advocates for fairer laws and policies.
*Family Care International – New York, New York ($1 million) makes pregnancy and childbirth safer for mothers worldwide through research, advocacy, and partnerships.
*Housing Partnership Network – Boston, Massachusetts ($1.5 million) enables peer learning and collaboration among more than 100 affordable housing and community development leaders.
*International Rivers – Berkeley, California ($750,000) opposes destructive dams in critical conservation regions and offers feasible alternatives to meet energy and water needs.
*Sin Fronteras – Mexico City, Mexico ($500,000) protects the human rights of migrants in Mexico.
*Southwest Organizing Project – Chicago, Illinois ($750,000) educates, mobilizes, and empowers communities in Chicago to help overcome foreclosures and violence.
*The Stimson Center – Washington, DC ($1 million) builds bipartisan support for pragmatic approaches to world security though analysis and outreach.
*StoryCorps – Brooklyn, New York ($1 million) captures, shares, and archives stories of a diverse range of Americans for future generations.
*The Tobin Project – Cambridge, Massachusetts ($750,000) links multidisciplinary scholars and policymakers to generate research addressing real-world problems.
*Ushahidi – Nairobi, Kenya ($750,000) pioneers free, open source software to collect and map information that advances human rights
The award is not only recognition for past leadership and success but also an investment in the future. Organizations will use this support to build cash reserves and endowments, develop strategic plans, and upgrade technology and physical infrastructure.
For these awards, the Foundation does not seek or accept nominations. To qualify, organizations must demonstrate exceptional creativity and effectiveness; have reached a critical or strategic point in their development; show strong leadership and stable financial management; have previously received MacArthur support; and engage in work central to one of MacArthur’s core programs.
MacArthur has a long history of building and strengthening institutions – from Human Rights Watch, now the largest U.S.-based human rights organization; to the Center for Responsible Lending that promotes and protects home ownership and family wealth; to Creative Commons, which has changed the way one uses and thinks about copyrights.