Justice Rapid Response (JRR) is pleased to announce that its Executive Director, Mr. Andras Vamos-Goldman, has been selected to become an Ashoka fellow.
Ashoka is the largest network of social entrepreneurs worldwide, with nearly 3,000 Ashoka Fellows in 70 countries putting their system changing ideas into practice on a global scale. Founded by Mr. Bill Drayton in 1980, Ashoka has provided start-up financing, professional support services, and connections to a global network across the business and social sectors, and a platform for people dedicated to changing the world. Ashoka launched the field of social entrepreneurship and has activated multi-sector partners across the world that increasingly look to entrepreneurial talent and new ideas to solve social problems.
The five criteria in the rigorous selection process for becoming an Ashoka fellow include:
- Social innovation: The idea must be a new solution or approach to a social problem—that will change the pattern in a field.
- Creativity: Successful social entrepreneurs must be creative both as goal-setting visionaries and as problem solvers capable of engineering their visions into reality.
- Entrepreneurial Quality: Considered one of the most important criterion, entrepreneurial quality is the defining characteristic of first class entrepreneurs. It defines leaders who see opportunities for change and innovation and devote themselves entirely to making that change happen.
- Social Impact of the Idea: This criterion focuses on the candidate’s idea, not the candidate. Ashoka is only interested in ideas that it believes will change the field significantly and that will trigger nationwide impact or, for smaller countries, broader regional change.
- Ethical Fiber: Social entrepreneurs introducing major structural changes to society have to ask a lot of people to change how they do things. If the entrepreneur is not trusted, the likelihood of success is significantly reduced. Ashoka asks every participant in the selection process to evaluate candidates for these qualities rigorously.
Once elected to the fellowship, Fellows benefit from this community all of their life.
JRR’s vision is to have the worst crimes known to humanity investigated at the same standard that is expected for any ordinary crime under domestic jurisdiction. Our long-term strategy is to have our standard of professionalism, training, diversity and promptness applied by every entity that is involved with the investigation of mass atrocities. By helping to ensure investigations are conducted to our standard, JRR can bring justice to victims, deter would-be offenders and help end the many cycles of violence around the world.
JRR was established by States from Global North and South to improve the ability of the international community to end impunity for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and serious human rights violations. JRR recruits, trains, and certifies criminal justice and human rights professionals from around the world to build a globally diverse roster currently composed of over 520 experts. Once on the roster, JRR has the mechanism in place to deploy these experts at short notice to assist States, International Organizations and regional entities that have the jurisdiction or mandate to investigate international crimes and serious human rights violations. In less than six years of operations, JRR has assisted States, international institutions and regional organizations in almost 60 investigations around the world and demand for JRR’s services continues to grow at a rate of more than 30% per year.Experts on the roster span 60 professional categories, from over 95 countries speaking over 85 languages.JRR’s roster is more than 40% from the global South and over 50% women, ensuring cultural, legal and linguistic diversity for any investigation.
Andras Vamos-Goldman is the Executive Director of Justice Rapid Response and took JRR from its original idea to reality, making it operational in 2009. Andras is also a Draper Richards Kaplan Entrepreneur and a regular speaker on issues related to the effective delivery of international justice.An international lawyer and Canadian diplomat, Andras’ involvement with international criminal justice dates back to the establishment of the Sierra Leone Special Court and the creation of the International Criminal Court.
PressRelease_JRR_AshokaFellow_20150925
For information about Justice Rapid Response, please contact: Vicky Edgecombe, Outreach and Communications Manager, v.edgecombe@justicerapidresponse.org
For information about Ashoka, please see: http://switzerland.ashoka.org/fr/node/2813