LEPnet.org launched to share knowledge

With support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Global College recently launched LEPnet— an International Applied Research Learning Network on Poverty and Human Rights—to foster research collaborations and knowledge-sharing on legal empowerment of the poor.

The Applied Research Learning Network on Poverty and Human Rights (LEPnet.org) is a project of The University of Winnipeg Global College. The network stems from the work of the UN Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor which issued its final report in June, 2008 entitled "Making the Law Work for Everyone." The network has been developed to serve as a portal through which a diversity of organizations’ contributions to the field of poverty and human rights are channeled, as well as to be a collaborative space where researchers and practitioners can collaborate on the development and publishing of new research and learning materials.

Following two successful conferences on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor in November 2008, with support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), The University of Winnipeg Global College committed to developing this network to support the growing community of practice in the field of legal empowerment. By bringing together researchers, practitioners, and students in a common collaborative space, the network portal aims to foster sharing, collaboration, and the development of new research on poverty and human rights.

Much of the LEPnet.org site is set up to make educational materials that are used in the teaching of undergraduate and graduate subjects available on the Web, free of charge, to any user anywhere in the world. This venture continues the tradition in higher education and communities of practice, of open dissemination of educational materials, philosophy, and modes of thought, and will help lead to fundamental changes in the way we utilize the Web as a vehicle for education.