VM
Vivek Maru
Namati
CEO
Biography
Vivek Maru is the founder of Namati, an organisation he established in 2011 to support cadres of community paralegals, often referred to as barefoot lawyers, in six countries. Namati and its partners empower these advocates to work within their communities to protect common lands, enforce environmental laws, and secure fundamental rights to healthcare and citizenship. Notable achievements include the establishment of a national programme in Mozambique to ensure healthcare accountability to local communities, Myanmar’s first legal commitment to respecting the customary land rights of ethnic minorities, and the enactment of Sierra Leone's progressive law on land, environmental, and climate justice.
Globally, Namati convenes the Grassroots Justice Network, which comprises over 3,000 groups from 174 countries, facilitating shared learning and collaboration on common challenges. Vivek is the co-author of Community Paralegals and the Pursuit of Justice (Cambridge University Press). His TED talk, “How to Put the Power of Law in People’s Hands,” has been viewed over a million times.
From 2003 to 2007, Vivek co-founded and co-directed Timap for Justice in Sierra Leone. He later served as senior counsel in the Justice Reform Group of the World Bank from 2008 to 2011. He also has a history of grassroots development work in his native Kutch, India. Vivek holds a magna cum laude degree from Harvard College and a law degree from Yale Law School.
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