Jones Day's Project Lesvos honored by the Sodalitas Foundation's Call for Future initiative
Jones Day's Project Lesvos is among the eight projects selected as part of the Sodalitas Call for Future initiative, a campaign created by the Sodalitas Foundation (Fondazione Sodalitas) to make people, institutions, and especially young people aware of the strategic role of companies in Italy that are committed to achieving the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Fondazione Sodalitas was founded in 1995 by Assolombarda—an association of companies operating in the City of Milan and in the provinces of Lodi, Monza, and Brianza—and a group of volunteer companies and managers, establishing itself as the first organization in Italy to promote corporate sustainability.
An independent panel assembled and managed by the RUS - Network of Universities for Sustainable Development analyzed the 150 projects submitted to Sodalitas Call for Future and recognized eight of them as particularly worthy and effective in building a sustainable future.
Jones Day's Project Lesvos is the only law firm project to have received this important recognition. Firm lawyers from across Europe and the Middle East travel to Lesvos, Greece for three weeks at a time to assist refugees. They help ensure that the national, European, and international laws governing humanitarian relief are available and properly applied, particularly to women and children.
The judging panel explained their choice of Project Lesvos: "Jones Day lawyers assist the permanent staff of HIAS, a well-known NGO based in New York, in collecting asylum applications, in guiding asylum seekers through the asylum process, in informing them of their rights and duties and in preparing them for the first steps of the procedure for the recognition of asylum status. [The project] is consistent with the pursuit of Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda by ensuring access to justice for all by building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels."