About Us
Rights Initiative’s mission is to increase the resources of civil society activists to advocate for economic and social rights.
Rights Initiative was founded in 2021 and is registered in The Netherlands. Our vision is that: All people enjoy economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights and live in democratic societies with more equal opportunities and distribution of resources and wealth. Rights Initiative develops partnerships around the globe to help scale-up fundraising, based on the following values:
- Equality We consider everyone equal, embrace gender equality and diversity.
- Trust We act in trust and seek to gain the trust of our partners through our actions.
- Openness We are open-minded, transparent and honest on expectations and interests.
- Accountability We are accountable and hold each other mutually responsible on commitments.
- Commitment We commit ourselves to advance economic and social rights.
Paul Groenewegen Founder. Paul worked for over 25 years in the development sector. He gained experience in many African and Asian countries. He worked more than 15 years at Oxfam, co-founded the global inequality campaign, and is an expert in public finance, health, education, gender, equality, democratic governance, tax justice and budget advocacy. Previously, he worked at the Ministries of Finance and Health in the Netherlands and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). He represented the Netherlands at the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Union (EU) and in Mongolia.
Alhassan Adam Advisor. Alhassan is currently a Scholar at the University of Greenwich in London. Alhassan is a researcher on private equity investment in health, public policy and citizens participation. He worked for 6 years as the international coordinator of the global End Water Poverty campaign on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation. Previously he held senior positions at Development Initiatives, Oxfam and the Africa Water Network. Alhassan is human rights oriented and a fighter for the poor. He believes in social justice and equity.
Imad Sabi Advisor. Imad works as an independent consultant and is an expert in strengthening civil society activism, campaigning and education. Previously he worked for the Open Society Foundations, Oxfam and ICCO. He chairs the Board of the Centre for Economic and Social Rights, and serves on the Boards of the Bank Information Center (BIC) and the Transnational Institute (TNI). Previously he was a member of the International Council of the World Social Forum and a founding member of the Board of Engaged Donors for Global Equity (EDGE).
Maria Lauranti Advisor. Maria Lauranti or Laura is Country Director at Oxfam in Indonesia. Previously she served as the Program Manager of Perkumpulan Prakarsa (Centre for Welfare Studies) in Jakarta and as Research lead on Social Protection at the Ministry of National Development Planning of Indonesia. Among many other things, Laura has substantial managerial experience and expertise in a range of economic, social, climate and gender justice issues. She has a wealth of experience in the development sector and ensures the quality of work with passion, commitment and integrity.