By Christina M. Storm | Executive Director of Lawyers Without Borders
With Lawyers Without Borders’ official recognition, LWOB Student Divisions give young people the opportunity to engage with pro bono work and human rights issues, fostering a culture of engagement in pro bono that we hope will then follow them into their future legal careers. Investing in our students is an essential means of strengthening pro bono work globally and in the long-term - and we can only continue to undertake our work with your support.
The work of our Student Divisions this year was extensive and varied. It is impossible to report all of their work here, but please refer to the Detailed Report Document to see a snapshot of some of their achievements.
A Leading Example: Aberdeen University
In particular, we'd like to congratulate Aberdeen University on their impressive work this year.
LWOB Human Rights Conference
The highlight of Aberdeen Student Division's calendar was their 3rd Annual LWOB Human Rights Conference, which sold out in advance. The topic of the conference was ‘Burkini ban: achieving successful integration or limiting civil liberties?’
Panelists for the conference were Tom Lewis (Director of the Centre of Conflict, Rights and Justice at the University of Nottingham Trent School of Law), Noor Mahmudah Mohd-Nor (Principal of the Al Noor Islamic School, Aberdeen ), Dr Thomas Hochmann (professor of law at the Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, France), Vladimir Bujanda Valiente (Principal Solicitor for Midlothian Council), Thiago Alves Pinto (second year, DPhil in Law at the University of Oxford) and moderator Daria Shapovalova (lecturer at University of Aberdeen Law School).
"The committee would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who attended our conference last night, as well as our wonderful panel of speakers, moderator and student speaker.
We hope you learned a lot and enjoyed the interesting and important discussion that was had."
- Aberdeen Student Division
Advocacy Competition Final 2017
In March, the division held their Advocacy Competition Final. The competition consisted of two individual competitors going up against each other in a legal debate, arguing on points of evidence. The winner, Israr, is pictured here being presented with his prize by the competition’s judge, Dr Phil Glover.
Student Speaker Competition 2017
In February, the division held their Student Speaker Competition. Entrants had to prepare a 7 minute speech on the topic of the right of religious expression, namely the right to wear religious clothing. The winner, Shanardra, gave the opening speech at the Annual Human Rights Conference. Her talk was entitled 'Burkini Ban: Violating both facets of religious freedom.'
Student Divisions: The Next Generation of Pro Bono
As you can see just from Aberdeen Student Division, the work we do truly engages students in the world of pro bono. Through competitions, conferences and debates, students are challenged to think about important legal issues and their role in the future of pro bono work. This is at the core of Lawyers Without Borders' mission - to capitalise on the unique skills of lawyers, judges and professionals throughout the world to help strengthen the Rule of Law and protect the vulnerable. We look forward to seeing what more our Student Divisions will achieve in the coming year.
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