News

The Ghana School of Law (GSL) , located in Accra, Ghana, is one of the top law institutions in Africa. More than 5,000 lawyers have graduated from GSL since it first opened its doors. However, budget and resource constraints have hindered institutional development until recently.

The Jack Mason Law & Democracy Initiative of Books For Africa recently was featured in “Share A Dream: A Summary of Sharing 2010,” a document that summarizes the incredible charitable work performed last year by the law firm Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi (RKMC) . RKMC provides the most financial support of any of our supportive law firms to the Jack Mason Law & Democracy Initiative. They have been our top donor since the program was created three years ago.

On November 29, 2010, supporters of Thomson Reuters and the Jack Mason Law & Democracy Initiative of Books For Africa gathered to formalize and celebrate their partnership. (View slideshow of reception.) Thomson Reuters has pledged to provide up to 15 core law libraries for BFA shipments each year for the next several years and will fund one shipment a year, a donation worth $1.2 million a year. (Read the TR press release.) Thomson Reuters hosted the reception, which featured a keynote address by former Vice President Walter Mondale, a co-chair of the Initiative. “This partnership will help Africa’s emerging democracies strengthen their governments by giving the next generation of lawyers, civil servants, and government leaders the tools necessary to create and sustain the stable democracies we take for granted,” said former Vice President Mondale.

In June of 2010, a delegation from the National Bar Association, led by NBA President Mavis T. Thompson, witnessed the distribution of a BFA shipment of books sponsored by their organization. The Ghana Bar Association received a West core law library, and the Ghana Human Rights Commission received a collection of new human rights books, all generously donated by Thomson Reuters.