Who are we?
Citizen Justice Network is an award-winning media and justice innovation which started in 2015 based in the Journalism Department at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. We bring together the established networks of paralegals and community radio stations to improve journalism and people’s access to justice. We help paralegals turn cases into stories that can educate and provide access to basic legal advice and services through radio.
How do we do this?
We build journalism capacity for paralegals to develop stories on social justice issues in under-reported areas. We provide technology, editorial guidance and connect them with local community radio stations so they can broadcast their stories in their languages.
Why is CJN unique?
We harness the trust and power of the community paralegal sector and turn them into a new generation of community journalists. We are authorities on media and journalism training to a demographic that desperately needs this guidance and we are becoming the connective tissue to many silos of already established institutions. We aim to bridge some of the gaps that are so vast in the South African society by empowering a public that faces difficult social justice challenges on a daily basis.
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