Speak Up seeks to catalyze the international work of justice by training local students, lawyers and other advocates to do the work of justice in their own country.

TRAINING INDIGENOUS LEADERS
Our goal is to create a international network of justice centers that are predominantly staffed and operated by indigenous advocates. And we hope to train many students and advocates to do the work of justice in other organizations besides ours. By training the next generation of advocates for the poor, Speak Up hopes to contribute to an international climate of justice for the poor that is owned and moved forward by people who serve and advocate for their own people.

In Bangkok, Thailand, we are working towards these goals by starting work at the Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Law. Chulalongkorn is Thailand’s most prominent university, and Chula Law graduates fill prominent roles across Thai society. In June 2010, Speak Up International Director Troy Anderson will begin teaching a class at Chula Law, and during the past few months has been working with Chula Law students to help them with their English writing and presentation skills and having them volunteer as translators and legal aides for our local work. Our vision is to turn our small start at serving students into full-time internships, future jobs for lawyers, and nationwide opportunities for young, idealistic Thai lawyers to practically serve the poor.

Beyond Thailand, we plan to replicate this model around the world in order to catalyze a new generation of advocates for the poor.