With a fund of Rs 1 Cr, non-profit Agami creates a data hub for law and justice
On the occasion of International Justice Day, we bring to you Bengaluru-based Agami, which has launched a first-of-its-kind ‘Data for Justice Challenge’ for people to build upon and co-create a data hub for our law and justice system.
Since 1998, every year on July 17, World Day for International Justice, also known as the International Justice Day, is celebrated globally to bring together everyone who wants to support justice and promote victims rights.
July 17 was chosen for this because it is also the anniversary of the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). ICC is the first permanent and independent international judicial institution for the prosecution of serious international crimes, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
On this occasion, we bring you Bengaluru-based Agami, a non-profit organisation set up by two senior entrepreneurs Sachin Malhan and Supriya Sankaran in 2018.
Agami has launched a first-of-its kind 'Data for Justice Challenge', which is designed so that entrepreneurial individuals and teams can work together to create a hub that can enable users to share, build upon, and co-create datasets.
With a dedicated starting fund of Rs 1 crore, it is committed to spurring a culture of data collaboration to improve systems of law and justice.
Speaking about the idea behind the challenge, Agami’s Co-founder Supriya Sankaran said,
“It is an important step towards making law and justice accessible to all citizens, and the community of data enthusiasts has helped us see that we can make this happen by breaking our silos to collaboratively create public resources. We can leverage technology to unlock datasets already among us to create a multiplier effect in society that improves transparency, catalysing data-driven policy reform, advocacy, journalism, and research.“
The Data for Justice Challenge is being rolled out in phases. Phase 1, which launched on May 29, 2019, invited inputs from lawyers, researchers, CSO heads, data-journalists, technologists, students, and more through Agami meetups. Phase 2, which launched on Monday, is an open call for anyone interested in creating the hub or creating datasets.
The expert partner for this challenge is the Centre for Constitutional Law, Policy and Governance (CLPG), NLU Delhi.
Aparna Chandra, Director, CLPG, said,
“Data-driven research is critical for robust policy making. Leveraging technology for conducting evidence-based research will make such research easily accessible to a wider audience and will hopefully lead to more and better policy inputs for making the legal system accessible and just.”
Additionally, the challenge is also supported by Omidyar Network India, an investment firm focussed on social impact, impact investor Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, law firm Trilegal, and social innovation network Ashoka.
Over the last year, Agami also launched multiple other initiatives such as the National Agami Prize, Agami Summit (gathering of innovators in the space of law and justice), and Agami Challenge on E-ADR (to build a technology-led online dispute resolution platform).
(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)
