Organisational Strengthening: Mizan Young Lawyers Center

Mizan Young Lawyers Center 

Mizan Young Lawyers Center (MYLC) is a civil society organisation that was established to advance human rights and access to justice in Ethiopia. It was set up in 2015 by ten lawyers who had graduated from Dilla University.  

MYLC has been working to promote legal awareness and provide civic education and legal aid services, specifically targeting less economically privileged community members during pre-trial, trial and post-trial phases. Recently, MYLC has also been engaged in human rights strategic litigation activities.  

Prior to the Civil Society Innovation Fund (CSIF) project, MYLC focused on civil cases, such as divorce, labour and inheritance. They provided legal support to an average of ten people every week, a very small staff and, although they provided good-quality and necessary services within the community, their internal organisational systems needed improving.  

The Impact of CSIF 

MYLC is part of a consortium led by Lawyers for Human Rights with Advocates Ethiopia. The consortium has received funding and training from the CSIF. The training was need-based and was complemented by follow-up coaching. MYLC underwent training in financial management, innovative advocacy strategies, rights-based and gender transformative project cycle management and monitoring, evaluation and learning, and leadership and organisational culture.  

The training and funding from CSIF have both expanded MYLC’s impact and improved its internal systems. MYLC has grown its team and now has six to eight staff as well as four lawyers and four paralegals. They have expanded their services to include criminal cases and report that they may be the only NGO in the region to provide holistic legal services in both criminal and civil matters. As a result, they now provide legal services to an average of 30 detainees per week.  

Following the training, MYLC feel more able and confident to design and implement effective programmes and to organise advocacy initiatives. They have also strengthened their internal financial management systems, digital documentation practices and skills for their finance staff. They feel having these systems makes them better placed to attract funding from other donors in future.