Our Story
Justice CoLab was born out of friendship, frustration, and a collective desire to do better.
Our founding members, whether born and raised in Myanmar or internationals who had the privilege of living and working there, all entered this field through grassroots community and social justice work. As our careers progressed, many of us stepped into roles with INGOs, UN agencies, and other international organisations. At the time, it felt like a goal we had been aiming for, a chance to scale up the work we believed in and find some financial stability along the way.
But the more time we spent inside the system, the harder it was to ignore its flaws. We experienced the racism, the patriarchy, the colonial mindset, and the disconnect from the communities the work was supposed to support. There was constant pressure to produce results quickly, even when the real work needed more time. Many of us talked about it, sometimes quietly, sometimes not, wondering whether it was possible to stay in the system without compromising ourselves.
Then came Covid and the 2021 attempted military coup.
As international organisations pulled out, many of us, inside and outside Myanmar, were shaken by how quickly everything changed. It was a stark reminder of how fragile the development and aid system is to external shocks. When government permissions disappeared and safety couldn’t be guaranteed, much of the international presence faded. In that vacuum, local communities continued to carry the work forward. It was clear: real resilience is local, and that’s where support must be rooted.
Justice CoLab began as a practical response, a way to help friends and trusted peers in Myanmar access freelance opportunities to support themselves, their families, their activism, and their communities. It also gave those of us outside the country a way to stay connected and continue contributing. But it quickly grew into something more.
What started as a small circle of lawyers and peacebuilders, has become a diverse, international collective of researchers, educators, health workers, humanitarians, storytellers, artists and activists. What unites us isn’t one profession, place, or identity, but a set of shared values and a commitment to work in ways that reflect them.
We’re building something different; a space where everyone is paid fairly, where language and cultural fluency are respected and compensated, where leadership is local, where care and flexibility are strengths, not weaknesses. We challenge extractive, hierarchical models and try out new approaches rooted in trust, humility, and accountability.
While Myanmar remains central to who we are, our work now reaches across regions. We’re proud to build bridges; between communities, supporting mutual learning, and between practitioners, creating unlikely teams that deliver high-quality, creative work.
We’re not claiming to have all the answers. But we’re here on purpose – to try, to challenge, and to change.
The Collective
The Justice CoLab Collective is flexible by design. People's needs, focus, and availability shift, and so does their involvement. Those featured below reflect just part of who we are.
Core Team
To support the Collective, a core team, currently based outside the regions where much of our work takes place, has taken on JCL’s operations. This helps ensure that energy stays with frontline work, not organisational upkeep. Inspired by ‘collectivos’ our structure is deliberately flat, and we remain committed to shared leadership and collective decision-making.
Here On Purpose
We don’t have all the answers, and we’re not here to fix things alone. But we do know that how we work matters.
These are the principles that guide our community:
We don't work in silos
Our approach is collaborative by name and design, flexible across time zones and inclusive of diverse experiences and perspectives. We co-create, learn together, and work in ways that make people feel less alone and more supported.
We acknowledge racists legacies
We are committed to amplifying expertise from the Majority World and challenging the unequal dynamics that shape our sectors. We try to reflect this by how we structure our teams, how we engage, and how we work. This is an ongoing process, and we’re open about the fact that we don’t always get it right. But we keep showing up and trying.
We say what needs to be said
We’re honest, with our partners, and with ourselves. We talk openly about power, privilege, and the messy realities that come with working in situations of conflict, crisis, and inequality. We try to be clear about our boundaries and limitations. We welcome questions and feedback, and we aim to give the same in return, respectfully and constructively.
We don't play it safe
Our way of working is shaped by context, not templates. We’d rather test something unfamiliar than fall back on methods we know don’t work. It’s not always neat, but it’s honest, and it helps us keep learning.
We push back
We believe that questioning, reflecting, and sometimes disagreeing can strengthen our work, not weaken it. We’re not here to say yes to everything. We want to help our partners strengthen their work and address blind spots, not just deliver on plans. That means making time to reflect on assumptions, learn from what hasn’t worked, and push back when something doesn’t sit right.
We care more about being useful than being agreeable
We’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. We come into partnerships with humility, but also with the experience to spot red flags and the confidence to name them. We understand the systemic barriers which stand in the way of collaborative solutions, and we’ll work with you to navigate them. If we disagree with something, we’ll say so, and we’ll explain why.
We don’t confuse overwork with commitment.
We know what it’s like to work under pressure, in unsafe environments, or within systems that don’t always serve the people they’re meant to. That’s why we’ve built a culture that values the full lives of everyone we work with. Prioritising family, rest, or fun doesn’t make us less committed - it makes us more present, more sustainable, and ultimately better at what we do.