Irene Mpofu, a South African, is registered for a master’s degree in Law at the University of Pretoria. Irene plans to join the National Prosecuting Authority as a state prosecutor specializing in fraud, money laundering and forensic auditing. Irene has completed two undergraduate degrees, one in law and the other in commerce, both from the University of the Witwatersrand, and is now pursuing two master’s degrees; one in law and one in fraud, risk, and money laundering.

Irene’s compelling motivation in all her work is to make South Africa a safer space for the 30 million women who live in there. She points to the low prosecution rates of white-collar crimes in South Africa (less than 7%) and unequivocally believes that women and children are the unseen victims of white-collar crimes, which most frequently steal funds designated for projects in impoverished communities.

As a young woman Irene witnessed a great deal of injustice against women and children within her community. She has always been concerned by the inability of the current structures in South Africa to provide adequate redress for the women in her community, including her own mother. It is her mother’s journey of navigating life in South Africa as a black woman that motivated Irene to want to change the status quo for all women in South Africa. The passing of her mother in 2018 solidified this ambition to work hard for the women in her life and all women in South Africa.

Irene volunteers as a debating coach for the South African Schools Debating Board. She coached the South African national junior debating team, which in 2017 the team was the youngest to reach the finals of the Asian World Schools Debating Championships in Thailand. She has also volunteered at the Wits Law Clinic, where she focused on obtaining housing assistance for low-income families in and around Johannesburg, South Africa.

Nomagugu Nyathi is a Zimbabwean studying Law at the University of Pretoria. Her PhD thesis is titled “Fostering the right to be heard: A critical analysis of child participation in South Africa's criminal courts." The study is driven by her conviction that children who participate in the criminal justice system must be afforded special protections. Nomagugu is a highly driven and passionate human rights activist. She is interested in building the agency of marginalized and vulnerable people, particularly women and children, using law as the main tool for social change. Her passionate commitment to human rights is influenced by her own experiences of growing up in Zimbabwe where human rights violations are increasingly the norm.

Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked in the social justice sector in South Africa where she gained extensive experience in developing and implementing rights-orientated projects. Inspired by her South African experience, Nomagugu established a children's community project called Scotch-Scotch Bhaza, (named after a popular children’s song) in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. To date the project has reached over 100 children through its life-skills-oriented and inclusive play component and has connected disadvantaged children with educational opportunities. Nomagugu's vision is that this initiative will one day serve as a community law center providing pro-bono legal services to children facing various legal challenges.

Nomagugu currently serves on the editorial team of the South African Journal on Human Rights (SAJHR), where she specializes in editing manuscripts relating to freedom of expression, access to information, access to justice, rule of law and children's rights. Nomagugu's dream is to one day occupy an influential position in the African region to influence the laws and policies affecting children and young people.